Kabul: Britain’s Foreign Secretary Boris Johnson (left) and British ambassador to Afghanistan Dominic Jermey visit the British cemetery here on Saturday.—AP
Kabul: Britain’s Foreign Secretary Boris Johnson (left) and British ambassador to Afghanistan Dominic Jermey visit the British cemetery here on Saturday.—AP

KABUL: British Foreign Secretary Boris Johnson dismissed suggestions on Saturday that Britain’s exit from the European Union and the election of Donald Trump as US president would lead to Western powers withdrawing from engagement with the rest of the world.

Speaking during an overnight visit to Kabul that included meetings with President Ashraf Ghani and Chief Executive Abdullah Abdullah, Johnson said Britain remained committed to Afghanistan “for the long haul”.

As well as continued support for the Nato-led Resolute Support mission to train Afghan security forces, it was doing “a hell of a lot” for aid and development in Afghanistan, in areas like education, he said.

“None of those will be affected by our relations with the treaties of the European Union, as you would expect,” he said.

Britain’s June 23 vote for ‘Brexit’ and Trump’s backing for an “America First” foreign policy have triggered alarm among some commentators who see signs of increasing isolationism among Western powers. However Johnson, one of the leaders of the pro-Brexit camp, rejected such fears.

“If the question is do I think that the western world is going to start withdrawing or turning in on itself, then the answer is emphatically no, I don’t think so,” Johnson told reporters. “That certainly won’t be the situation with the United Kingdom.” “We intend to be more engaged with the world, more outward-looking than ever before,” he said.

“I think we’ll have to see how things pan out in Washington but I think that the interest of the United States in the security and stability of this part of the world will remain fundamental.” Johnson visited Kabul University, where he attended a performance of a scene from Shakespeare’s tragedy Macbeth in Dari, as well as the British cemetery, with its memorial to more than 450 British soldiers killed in Afghanistan.

Published in Dawn, November 27th, 2016

Opinion

Editorial

Smog hazard
Updated 05 Nov, 2024

Smog hazard

The catastrophe unfolding in Lahore is a product of authorities’ repeated failure to recognise environmental impact of rapid urbanisation.
Monetary policy
05 Nov, 2024

Monetary policy

IN an aggressive move, the State Bank on Monday reduced its key policy rate by a hefty 250bps to 15pc. This is the...
Cultural power
05 Nov, 2024

Cultural power

AS vital modes of communication, art and culture have the power to overcome social and international barriers....
Disregarding CCI
Updated 04 Nov, 2024

Disregarding CCI

The failure to regularly convene CCI meetings means that the process of democratic decision-making is falling apart.
Defeating TB
04 Nov, 2024

Defeating TB

CONSIDERING the fact that Pakistan has the fifth highest burden of tuberculosis in the world as per the World Health...
Ceasefire charade
Updated 04 Nov, 2024

Ceasefire charade

The US talks of peace, while simultaneously arming and funding their Israeli allies, are doomed to fail, and are little more than a charade.