Obama says Brexit won't sour US-UK special relationship

SILICON VALLEY, CALIFORNIA

US President Barack Obama has said that the special relationship between the United Kingdom (UK) and the United States (US) would not change despite Britain’s decision to exit the European Union (EU).

Speaking on Friday during the closing ceremony of the seventh Global Entrepreneurship Summit (GES), the US President said that the referendum outcome spoke to the ongoing changes and challenges raised by globalisation.

However, he noted that he was “confident that the UK is committed to an orderly transition out of the EU” but maintained that the EU would remain one of America’s “indispensable” partners.

“But while the UK’s relationship with the EU will change, one thing that will not change is the special relationship that exists between our two nations.  That will endure,” Mr Obama said.

He added that the two countries' shared values would continue to unite them.

OBAMA'S WARNING

In April, the US president warned Britain’s voters that it could take up to a decade to strike a trade deal with his country if they were to leave the EU.

Mr Obama said it was wrong for Brexit campaigners to suggest it would be straightforward to agree a new trade relationship if Britain left.

But while at the Global Entrepreneurship Summit (GES) in California, United States, he reiterated that America would respect Britain's decision..

On Friday, the UK made history by voting to leave the EU.

New estimates as of last night indicated that Brexit (a term coined for Britain’s referendum on whether to leave the European Union) already created volatility in the global financial markets after the move wiped out over two trillion dollars of value worldwide.

But the decision would also be felt closer home through the ripple effects on exports and tourism.

INVEST IN YOUTH

At the GES, Mr Obama also reiterated the need to invest in youth who today make up half of the world’s population.

“We have to make sure that all of our young people around the world have the tools they need to start new ventures, and to create the jobs of the 21st century,” he said.

The US president, whose term ends in November, promoted the idea of self-employment and entrepreneurship as the key drivers of economies and strong linkages between countries.

“I believe we are better off in a world in which we are trading, networking, communicating and sharing ideas,” Mr Obama added.

US Secretary of State John Kerry had on Thursday addressed the need to educate and offer employment to the growing population of youth to address radicalisation and violent extremism.

“These young people need education and they need opportunity and they need it now — not 10 years from now,” Mr Kerry said.

Nearly 1,000 delegates drawn from 170 countries attended this year’s GES in Silicon Valley.

Next year’s Global Entrepreneurship Summit will be in India.