I agree entirely with my colleague. Although immigration and asylum are reserved to the UK Government, we remain committed to providing support and assistance to all those who seek safety and sanctuary in Scotland, and we will do our utmost to support people to make Scotland their home. With independence, Scotland can leave behind the hostile environment that characterises UK Government policy.

Let us get this right. The position of the Conservative Party is that it wishes to abolish the part of the civil service that is dealing with retained EU law management, devolution, intergovernmental relations and the provision of information for the Covid public inquiries. Is that seriously the position of the Conservative Party?

If Sandesh Gulhane is genuinely interested in freeing up civil service time, he would be well advised to speak with his Westminster colleagues about ditching, or at least ameliorating, the Retained EU Law (Revocation and Reform) Bill, which is causing an unprecedented and unnecessary diversion of civil service time.

The Scottish Fiscal Commission forecasts that Scotland’s working-age population will fall by an average of 10,000 a year for at least the next five years, with net migration from the European Union lower as a result of Brexit and the United Kingdom Government’s putting in place a restrictive immigration system that does not account for Scotland’s needs.

Independence would give us the power to design immigration policy that is tailored to Scotland’s needs, and to return the right to free movement in the European Union. Our approach would seek to attract working-age people and their families to live here and make a positive contribution to our economy and our communities, especially in rural areas.

Scotland is feeling the full damage of the UK Government’s hard Brexit despite our overwhelming vote to remain and despite the fact that the Scottish Government put forward a compromise plan in 2016 to keep both the United Kingdom and Scotland in the single market—a compromise that was dismissed by UK ministers. [Interruption.]

We are reading the legal text of the Windsor agreement and requesting more detail from the UK Government so that we can establish in more detail what the framework will mean for Scotland.

There appears to be no significant difference between the Conservative Party and the Labour Party on this. They both support a hard Brexit, which is hugely damaging. It has never been clearer that the only way to regain the benefits of European Union membership is for Scotland to be an independent country.

The Scottish Government welcomes the Windsor framework agreement. The dispute over the Northern Ireland protocol was of the United Kingdom Government’s own making and was deeply damaging, threatening what would have been a catastrophic trade war with the European Union in the middle of a cost of living crisis. The Scottish Government also fully supports the Good Friday agreement. However, Scotland is, by the Prime Ministers own admission, now at a major competitive disadvantage. Mr Sunak said that Northern Ireland was in an

“unbelievably special position, a unique position in the entire world”.

I signal the Government’s acceptance of the amendments that have been lodged both by the Scottish Labour Party and by the Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party. I hope that that reflects a positive, cross-party approach to Scotland’s relationship with our Arctic and northern neighbours.

Today’s debate provides a welcome opportunity to highlight the importance for Scotland of continuing to collaborate with the Arctic region. Scotland is, in fact, the world’s most northerly non-Arctic nation. Unst, in Shetland, lies further to the north than Cape Farewell in Greenland, Juno in Alaska and Whitehorse in Yukon. Scottish waters stretch 200 miles into the Norwegian Sea, well into the 63rd parallel north and, similarly, into the North Atlantic Ocean.

Therefore, from an Arctic perspective, Scotland’s location at the edge of Europe is far from peripheral—it is quite the opposite. We are in a key strategic position, because we connect the European Arctic with central Europe and North America. There is growing international recognition of the constructive role that Scotland can—and does—play as a close sub-Arctic neighbour.

Although our geographic proximity is a key asset, there is much more to Scotland’s developing collaboration with the Arctic region. Indeed, present-day links build on centuries-old ties that remain visible across Scotland in place names, heritage, architecture and culture.

Scotland’s compass has long pointed north in search of beneficial partnerships and knowledge to realise opportunities, and increasingly it does so now to collectively address global challenges. Scotland’s largely rural profile of sparsely populated regions and abundance of natural resources is akin to that of the Arctic. That creates similar opportunities, such as those concerning the blue economy and green energy production. Shared issues also arise, in particular, from remoteness, for instance, in relation to connectivity, resilience, climate adaption, depopulation and public service delivery. Scotland has developed a wealth of expertise on such issues, which is relevant to our Arctic partners. For that reason, Scotland was a valued contributor to the European Union’s northern periphery and Arctic programme, and more than 40 per cent of the projects in the 2014 to 2020 round had at least one Scottish partner.

The United Kingdom Government’s choice to step away from the NPA and other European programmes is yet another practical example of the harm caused by Brexit. The Scottish Government continues to explore channels to associate with the NPA and other programmes in the future.

To reflect the strategic importance of collaboration with Arctic partners, the Scottish Government published Scotland’s first Arctic policy framework back in 2019, and my colleague Fiona Hyslop launched the document in Stromness in recognition of the historical ties between Orkney and the Arctic.

Our framework sets out how we will co-operate and share knowledge with Arctic partners. It is an invitation to pool expertise and unlock wellbeing and prosperity for Scottish and Arctic communities, with a distinctive hands-on approach and strong community focus. Unlike other narratives, which often focus on taking from the Arctic, our framework sets out Scotland’s offer to the Arctic, and it focuses on offering and sharing.

Since publishing the framework, we have intensified engagement with domestic and international stakeholders to open new avenues for Scottish-Arctic co-operation. The engagements that I have undertaken recently make it clear that Scotland’s expertise is increasingly warmly received and warmly sought after.

Last October, I addressed the Arctic Circle assembly in Reykjavík and was joined by a large Scottish contingent of researchers and third sector and cultural organisations. At the assembly, I opened a session on rural mental health, which was organised by the Scottish Government in partnership with the National Research Council of Canada and the University of the Highland and Islands. Exactly one month ago, I was in Tromsø for the annual Arctic Frontiers conference, where I was invited to join a panel discussion on rural repopulation in a session with the Norwegian prime minister, Jonas Gahr Støre, and US Senator Lisa Murkowski, from Alaska.

Later this month, on 17 March, we will partner with Arctic Frontiers to host a one-day forum on Scottish-Arctic collaboration at the Aberdeen Science Centre. I hope that colleagues from across the chamber will consider attending the event.

Our framework commits us to support Scottish organisations to pursue deeper and broader collaboration with Arctic partners. With that in mind, in 2021, we launched a new Arctic stakeholder fund. To date, the scheme has supported 20 innovative and value-adding projects, and work is now under way on a new round of the fund.

Many of the projects work with indigenous organisations, including to promote and protect indigenous languages. One of the brilliant projects that we have supported this year is led by The Polar Academy, a West Lothian charity that works with young Scots who are experiencing mental health challenges. After a rigorous training programme, the academy takes them on a life-changing polar expedition in Greenland. This year’s expedition will set off in the coming days, and I wish all the participants an exciting but safe trip.

Perhaps the best examples of the pace at which Scotland’s collaboration with Arctic partners has progressed have come from the academic sector. When our policy framework was published in 2019, Scotland had two members in the University of the Arctic, an international network of institutions that produce research in and about the Arctic. Today, nine Scottish universities are members of UArctic, and I am confident that more will join. We have more members than Sweden and more than any other non-Arctic nation, with the exception of China, which is something of which we should be proud. In recognition of our growing status in the network, UArctic chose the University of St Andrews to host, with Government support, a leadership conference last May.

We have helped to fund the establishment of the Scottish Arctic Network, which brings together academics and researchers from across Scotland with expertise in the Arctic. I am pleased to inform Parliament that, on behalf of the network, the University of Edinburgh will host the Arctic science summit week in 2024. That will be one of the world’s largest gatherings of Arctic research organisations.

Supporting research and making best use of available scientific evidence is critical to tackling the dramatic changes that the Arctic is experiencing. Melting glaciers, sea level rises and the escalating pace at which the region is warming are illustrative of the devastating effects of climate change. Those changes do not stay in the Arctic; they reach our islands and coastal communities, too. As a pioneer of renewable energies and decarbonisation, Scotland can offer expertise and help to catalyse international efforts.

Tackling the climate emergency has become the single most important element in Scotland’s partnership with Arctic nations. As we know, the green shift is also an economic opportunity, particularly for our partnership with Arctic nations and Arctic regions, which together represent more than a quarter of our exports. There is ample potential to increase that.

Our draft energy strategy and just transition plan further underline the opportunities to work with northern neighbours to create shared strategic advantage and establish regional infrastructure to meet domestic and international renewable energy demand. In addition, our Arctic policy framework and the new national planning framework 4 highlight how Scotland can create a near-Arctic marine transport and logistics hub. The University of Strathclyde’s hosting of the 27th international conference on port and ocean engineering under Arctic conditions, which is the first time that the conference has been held in the UK, is further evidence of that.

Today’s debate has created space to set out all that Scotland is already achieving in our partnership with Arctic nations and to demonstrate our ambitions to grow those powerful links further. We are strategically located and have a wealth of relevant experience to make Scotland not only a key partner in the Arctic, but a shareholder in its future. In moving the motion in my name, I hope that Parliament will support and welcome those ambitions for Scotland and our Arctic neighbours.

I move,

That the Parliament acknowledges Scotland’s strategic role as the world’s most northerly non-Arctic nation; agrees on the value of increasing collaboration between Scotland and its Arctic partners; welcomes the distinctive profile and reputation that Scotland has built internationally as an expert contributor to Arctic cooperation; recognises the importance of offering knowledge to promote sustainable development in the region, while learning from best practice developed there; calls for the Arctic to remain safe, stable and peaceful; acknowledges the particular threat posed to the Arctic by the climate crisis, and the need for climate action to be at the heart of Arctic cooperation, and supports the continued engagement with Arctic states, nations and regions to pursue sustainable trade opportunities, develop joint solutions that strengthen community resilience and mark longstanding cultural ties.

In my opening remarks, I set out some of the initiatives that the Scottish Government has promoted in recent years to deepen collaboration with the Arctic region. In closing, I will reflect further on the strategic objectives of that work and the approach that the Scottish Government is taking to pursue them.

However, first, I will respond to points that were made by speakers from all parties during the debate. With some very minor exceptions, there has been a hugely constructive tone from all parties in the debate, which is warmly welcome.

Donald Cameron began by saying that Scotland has an important role to play—which is a bit of a contrast to the summing-up speech from his party. He said that it is important to engage with our Arctic and northern neighbours both economically and culturally. I agree with him.

Donald Cameron said that it was right to highlight the difficulties that are posed by Russian aggression in Ukraine. He pointed out that the risks to stability and security in our northern region as a result are an absolute given. He also pointed out, given the nature of the climate crisis, how important it is for us to be working with our Arctic and northern neighbours.

He was—and I am pleased that it is on the record—very gracious and explicit in the Conservative Party’s praise for GlobalScot and the Scottish international trade network, and I look forward to hearing more about that from other colleagues on his party’s benches in future debates.

Sarah Boyack of the Scottish Labour Party talked about the twin challenges of climate security and global security. She made the point, quite rightly, that the aggression of Russia has meant that there is a diversion of collective focus away from the climate crisis but that we must not lose sight of the scale of the climate emergency. She also put on record her party’s growing interest in the likes of Scotland being able to sign international agreements. I look forward to her party further developing its recognition of why being a normal international nation as a sovereign state is a good thing.

Liam McArthur rightly drew attention to the historical connections between Orkney and Arctic neighbours. He had a long list of areas of co-operation, both actual ones and ones that can still reach full fruition. I totally agree with those.

I pay tribute to Fiona Hyslop, my predecessor in this office, for all that she did and continues to do to promote links between Scotland and the Arctic and the high north. In particular, she pointed out the opportunities that we have with our northern neighbours in the field of renewables, particularly hydrogen, and I can attest to that through the conversations that I have had with decision makers in our neighbouring countries, which have a huge interest in the potential for co-operation with Scotland. That is something—

I will, of course.

Forgive me; I did overlook that and I should not have. I have a long list of points that colleagues made. I am sorry—I did not mean to skip over that.

I would like to look very closely at the proposals that are being made. It would be a hugely positive development to have a centre of excellence and a reprise of the event that took place in Stromness. He is right to highlight the role that Orkney Islands Council has. I regularly meet the convener of the council when attending events in our northern region. I have strongly encouraged him and other colleagues to look at the likes of the mayors network in Arctic Frontiers as a way of local authorities being able to take a direct role in relationships with other parts of the northern neighbours. Those are the beginnings of a conversation with Liam McArthur, and I look forward to being as helpful and supportive as I can be.

Jamie Halcro Johnston is a man from the northern isles, so he knows exactly how important our historical and current links are. He talked about issues of depopulation, rurality and connectivity, and he was absolutely right to do so.

Richard Leonard talked about geostrategic instability, which he has good reason to highlight, as well as the importance of the rights of indigenous people—people whose communities might be in jeopardy and under threat. He posed the question of which priorities are being pursued and asked whether they are extractive or relate to militarisation. I will say that the Scottish Government is committed in particular to co-operation on renewables but also to stability.

We cannot avoid the fact that we are seeing challenges that we need to think about in new ways. It was not long ago that there was sabotage to the subsea infrastructure of the Nord Stream pipeline. All of our nations for which energy is an important focus need to have the tools at our disposal to ensure that we are not subject to that kind of malign influence.

Gillian Martin talked about the importance of emissions reduction through co-operation, and there is so much that we can do in that as groundbreaking nations in northern Europe and the Arctic.

Mark Ruskell highlighted his attendance at an Arctic co-operation event. He, Gillian Martin and, I believe, Douglas Lumsden have been at such events. That is hugely worth while. I hope that other colleagues who have taken part in or listened to this debate will think about attending an Arctic event, and I hope that members who have done so will forgive me for not mentioning them. I strongly encourage it. The conference that is being held in Aberdeen on 17 March is a good starter for those who have not been at one yet. I very much look forward to seeing colleagues from all parties at future Arctic and northern events.

Mark Ruskell talked about wishing to build on the ambitions of Orkney and Shetland for the rest of Scotland, and I think that that is absolutely right. He highlighted the role of Prime Minister Katrín Jakobsdóttir of Iceland, who deserves particular praise. He also highlighted the parallel approaches of the Icelandic and Scottish Governments to the wellbeing economy. I note for the record her warm words of praise for our outgoing First Minister, and indeed the warm words from former Icelandic President Ólafur Ragnar Grímsson, which have been well heard and received in Scotland.

Paul McLennan talked about the potential for local authority connections. He is absolutely right to do so. We need as many parts of Scotland to realise the huge untapped potential that we have for enhanced relations with our Arctic and northern neighbours.

Douglas Lumsden spoke very persuasively about the importance of the links between Aberdeen and Stavanger. He underlined the importance of the energy sector and the transition that both Norway and Scotland are facing. Indeed, that was the subject of my discussions with the Norwegian state secretary for energy, Andreas Bjelland Eriksen, only a few weeks ago. Douglas Lumsden said that we should learn from our Norwegian neighbours. Hooray! I totally agree. I listened closely to his speech, and I think that he missed out the last page about the success of Norway after it became independent in 1905. Once one of the poorest countries in Europe, it now celebrates its success as one of Europe’s richest. Of course, Norway set up an oil fund, which will be able to fund its public services in perpetuity—something that the United Kingdom Government has not done for us. [Interruption.]

With the permission of colleagues, I just want to conclude by referring to the final speeches.

Audrey Nicoll talked about our geostrategic importance, which she is absolutely right about, and highlighted Lossiemouth. I should say that we have been trying to be consensual on most of these issues, but there is more that we can do in terms of our geostrategic co-operation. Northern air policing, which is organised through NATO, has had nearly 50 deployments, but the United Kingdom has only ever been able to provide one. I think that all of us would welcome a much more full-blooded level of commitment towards that.

Audrey Nicoll also talked about the advantages of social policy co-operation, including such ideas such as the barnahus or bairns’ hoose approach and the baby box. There is more that we can do there.

Kenneth Gibson talked about technology and innovation.

Foysol Choudhury talked about a cross-party approach to this issue, and he is absolutely right that there is much more that we can do together. He also reminded us of the accelerated speed of global warming in the Arctic and high north, which should spur us on to act more in concert with others.

As a minor correction to Sharon Dowey’s words on behalf of the Conservative Party, I say that we have this afternoon been debating external affairs, which is a reserved responsibility. She mentioned the importance of the economy and infrastructure as devolved areas of co-operation. If she has not already read it—indeed, if any colleagues have not yet read it—I would draw their attention to the Scottish Government’s excellent Arctic policy framework, which outlines all the devolved areas in which Scotland is co-operating with our northern neighbours.

The Scottish Government will continue to engage with and mobilise expertise across Scotland to promote our offer among Arctic audiences, encourage knowledge exchange and support sustainable economic development. A team Scotland approach is required if we are to fully seize the strategic opportunities that are offered by Scotland’s role as Europe’s gateway to the Arctic region. I therefore welcome the cross-party investment in international platforms such as the Arctic Circle assembly. I know that Liam McArthur and members of the Net Zero, Energy and Transport Committee were there last year.

Many of the matters that this Parliament is responsible for have direct relevance to Scottish Arctic collaboration. I therefore invite members to work with the Scottish Government to continue to promote Scotland as an expert and committed contributor to Arctic co-operation. The tone of this afternoon’s debate and the cross-party approach should give us all confidence that that is, indeed, the case.