Boris Johnson tells UN Brexit is not isolationism

British Foreign Secretary Boris Johnson will make his first official visit to the U.S. in his new role on Friday (22 July 2016), just days after receiving a baptism of fire from American media in London during a joint-press conference with John Kerry.

The comments were seen as a response to USA presidential candidate Donald Trump, who said in his Republican Party nomination acceptance speech that North Atlantic Treaty Organisation is “obsolete – because it did not properly cover terror”.

Johnson then came to U.N. headquarters where he sat in Britain’s seat at the U.N. Security Council and voted with the 14 other members to approve a British-drafted resolution calling on the global community to help Libya dispose of its last stocks of chemical weapons precursors.

British Foreign Secretary Boris Johnson has urged allies fighting the Islamic State (IS) to do more to gather evidence of war crimes by the group.

Following a visit to Washington, Johnson said he met in NY with “very senior representatives” of companies in the banking, pharmaceutical and manufacturing industries who emphasised the strategic importance of the UK. He was in NY to meet with business leaders and then see U.N. Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon and other diplomats at the world body’s headquarters.

Johnson said he and Ban talked about Syria, Yemen, Libya, Sudan and Somalia – “all countries in which the United Kingdom is playing a leading role in trying to bring solutions whether through diplomacy or politically or peacekeeping”.

Mr Johnson replied: “As I say, I think the crucial thing is to focus on global security and I do believe that is best advanced through North Atlantic Treaty Organisation”.

Britain is a veto-wielding permanent member of the Security Council, along with the United States.

“Brexit means us being more outward-looking, more engaged, more enthusiastic and committed on the world stage than ever before”, he said.

Johnson said his country will draw up a basic plan for its exit from the European Union, or Brexit, and present an outlook for its future relationship with the EU.

“I think that what people are starting to see is that the British decision to leave the European Union does not mean that Britain is leaving Europe”, he said. “We buy a helluva lot of French wine”.