Post-Brexit, where to now for the UK? This question has been on the minds of various economic commentators and executives and some feel the answer strongly lies in south Asia. Given that the UK’s political perception is somewhat dicey, south Asia’s patience could just be the perfect fit. Continental Europe is not exactly famous for its capacity at coping with any kind of political turmoil.
Furthermore, when you look at Asia, most business is conducted there in English. British executives do not traditionally pride themselves on their proficiency in foreign languages and in other parts of Europe that is often met with substantial disdain. Given the fact that in addition to that, 9 percent of foreign-born Brits hail from India, 6 percent from Pakistan and 2 percent from Bangladesh, this Asian origin could – as noted in a recent Financial Times article written by Daiva Repeckaite – result in a “cultural and economic bridge” following Brexit.
There is still a chance though that Europe could be the place of choice for British executives to invest. Or at least, borderline. Given that British PM Theresa May just signed a $US125 million ($165.6 million) defense equipment deal with Turkey, this is likely to result in greater trade between the two regions. Now Turkey is interesting because it was just under three years ago that the country started its process of going into the Europe Union (not that long before Britain started its very own exit) and anyway geographically it is a bit of a fence-sitter between Europe and Asia, resulting in a somewhat confused identity.
Still, with May’s recent deal the UK is hopeful that this will lead to additional trade between the allies, pushing for an aviation security program simultaneously. May actually referred to the deal as indicative of Britain being a “great, global, trading nation and that we are open for business,” so really this open-ended statement could lead the UK in any direction, east or west.