US PRESIDENT BARACK Obama has said the UK’s decision to leave the EU raises “ genuine longer-term concerns about global growth”.
Speaking at a summit in Ottawa with the leaders of Canada and Mexico, Obama said it was possible a Brexit could freeze the possibility of investment in Great Britain “or Europe as a whole”.
Obama said the US government was monitoring the situation very carefully and he expressed confidence in the global financial system’s resilience and stability, and the ability of all parties in Europe to work out a smooth transition.
He said preparations done by central banks and other financial institutions “indicate the degree to which the global economy in the short run will hold steady”.
However he added: “I think there are some genuine longer-term concerns about global growth if in fact Brexit goes through and that freezes the possibility of investment in Great Britain or in Europe as a whole.”
At a time when global growth rates were weak already, this doesn’t help.
Obama also called on the UK prime minister David Cameron and other EU leaders to ensure an orderly process for the British exit.
Additional reporting: - © AFP, 2016
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