"We want to do a deal with the UK when the time is right. The timing around that will, in many respects, be dictated by the UK, the discussions with the EU…if Article 50 is presented quarter one or quarter two next year, and then a two-year window in relation to that, so you would expect that it's at least two and a half years off," Ciobo told BBC Radio 4 during his visit to the United Kingdom.
On Monday, UK Prime Minister Theresa May said that Ciobo would visit the United Kingdom later in the week for exploratory discussions on the general outline of a trade deal that would take shape between the two countries after the UK exit from the European bloc.
On June 23, the United Kingdom held a referendum in which 51.9 percent of voters, or 17.4 million people, opted for the country to leave the European Union. The United Kingdom is now expected to invoke Article 50 of the EU Lisbon Treaty to initiate the formal process of withdrawal from the bloc and start talks with the EU leaders on the new format of their relations.
