LONDON, July 1 (UPI) -- London will extend a British foreign policy to the global community that reflects geopolitical change in the 21st century, the British foreign secretary said.
British Foreign Secretary William Hague, in a Thursday speech in London, laid out the foreign policy directives of the coalition government of Prime Minister David Cameron.
Hague said London wasn't extending its influence in the world in a manner that fits its position in the global community.
"The world has changed and if we do not change with it Britain's role is set to decline with all that that means for our influence in world affairs, our national security and our economy," he said.
Hague, in his first major policy speech since taking office in May, said his country needed to move forward in the world with a distinct and effective set of foreign policy goals.
The United Kingdom, he said, needed to look beyond traditional allies and establish bilateral relations with emerging and developing powers in the international community.
He said the Cameron government would deliver a "distinctive British foreign policy" that engages in an increasingly "networked world."
"Achieving our foreign policy objectives has become harder and will become more so unless we are prepared to act differently," the British foreign secretary said.
