Britain fights for free markets, trade and globalization: May

Britain would fight for free markets, free trade and globalization, British Prime Minister Theresa May said here Thursday.

"It is about embracing genuine free trade, because that is the basis of our prosperity," she said in a special address at the 2017 World Economic Forum in Davos, Switzerland.

"The challenges and opportunities before us require us to look outward, in a spirit of cooperation and partnership."

"That is why I want the UK to emerge from this period of change as a truly global Britain," May said.

Her remarks came two days after her keynote speech outlining her plans for leaving the European Union.

In a decisive speech on Tuesday that sets a course for a clean break with the EU, May promised to quit the EU single market and seek a free trade agreement with the EU.

She also pledged to restrict access to Britain by EU citizens and end the jurisdiction in Britain of the European Court of Justice. The 12-point blueprint was dubbed a "hard Brexit".

In Davos, Theresa May reassured the audience that Britain is not turning its back on Europe.

"We are a European country and proud of our European heritage, but we are also a country that has always looked beyond Europe," she explained.

May also said that Britain was a country in control of its own destiny.

"Forces that underpin the rules-based international system ... are somehow at risk of being undermined," she said.

"The sense among the public is that mainstream political leaders have failed to hear their concerns for too long."

In May's view, this sense of failure was one explanation for the Brexit vote, in which British citizens decided by referendum last June to leave the EU.

Referring to hard economic realities faced by ordinary citizens, May urged fellow proponents of free trade to confront and respond to these concerns and offer a new approach.

"We must work together to shape new policies and approaches that demonstrate their capacity to deliver for all of the people in our respective countries," she insisted.

"I want that to be the legacy of our time, to use this moment to provide responsive, responsible leadership, that will bring the benefits of free trade to every corner of the world," she said.

The World Economic Forum is a Swiss nonprofit organization. It holds its annual meeting in Davos, Switzerland. Endit