Bonza: Australia wants a trade deal with the UK post-Brexit
Australia is seeking a free trade deal with the UK after the vote to leave the EU, it has been revealed.
Newly installed Prime Minister Theresa May and her counterpart in Australia Malcolm Turnbull spoke over the phone on Saturday and Turnball indicatied a desire to negotiate a deal as soon as possible.
"I have been very clear that this Government will make a success of our exit from the European Union," said May on Sunday morning.
Read more: Scotland should be "fully engaged" in Brexit talks, says Theresa May
"One of the ways we will do this is by embracing the opportunities to strike free trade deals with our partners across the globe. It is very encouraging that one of our closest international partners is already seeking to establish just such a deal."
She continued:
"This shows that we can make Brexit work for Britain, and the new Secretary of State for International Trade will be taking this forward in the weeks and months ahead.Britain is an outward-looking and globally-minded country, and we will build on this as we forge a new role for ourselves in the world."
Meanwhile, international trade secretary Liam Fox has said he is "scoping" deals with a dozen countries for when Britain does leave the EU.
He told the Sunday Times he had "fruitful" negotiations with Canada on Friday and plans to visit the US next week, according to the report.
Read more: Prime Minister Theresa May makes a few more ministerial changes
“We’ve already had a number of countries saying: we’d love to do a trade deal with the world’s fifth-biggest economy without having to deal with the other 27 members of the EU," he said.
Trade deals can not be agreed until Britain is no longer a part of the EU. There will be a two year window for leaving once Article 50 is triggered. May said on Friday it would not be triggered until a UK-wide approach was agreed, after talks with Scottish First Minister Nicola Sturgeon.