Chamber and committees

Will the member give way?

I will not. I am winding up now.

In conclusion, Presiding Officer, engagement, partnership and collaboration are cornerstones of the committee’s work, and we are proud that they are also existing cornerstones of this Government’s approach to our international work through the great work of our staff in our international offices. I note the sharing of good practice such as our fair and inclusive policies at home, the drawing of influence from constructive partnerships overseas, the continued maintenance of alignment with the European Union, and the supporting and empowering of our partner countries through our international development programme.

I will come to that point later. Incidentally, I am also summing up, so I will be able to reflect on members’ contributions.

To return to the international offices, which I was addressing when Willie Rennie intervened on another issue, we will be happy to keep the committee updated on the work that I described as it develops in the months ahead.

In preparing its report, the committee heard from our offices at first hand. The visits that I have made in recent weeks to Ireland, the United States, Canada, Germany and indeed London entirely support the committee’s conclusion. Not only was I impressed, I heard and saw at first hand what a positive impact our external network makes.

In March, I visited Dublin to meet the Irish Government for the first annual review of our bilateral co-operation framework. Scotland and Ireland have an ambitious joint work programme to deliver improved Government relations, business and economic ties and health collaboration, as well as co-operation in the fields of academia and research, community and diaspora, and rural, coastal and island communities.

In early April, I visited the United States and Canada. There was a focus on businesses that are involved in high-tech and high-value jobs in digital markets from infrastructure to gaming, as well as on other high-growth areas such as sustainable tourism. I was able to build on engagements from the 26th United Nations climate change conference of the parties—COP26—and to take part in tartan day, which was a timely reminder of the importance of friendship and community between Scotland and the United States and between Scotland and Canada.

In late April, I visited Bavaria to take part in the Ludwig Erhard summit—the German Davos—which brought together top decision makers from politics, research and industry. Being part of that high-profile event ensured that we could reinforce the potential of Scotland’s considerable renewable resources, including green hydrogen, to contribute to security of energy supply in Europe. That is a good example of promoting Scotland’s excellence in science and technology, which Clare Adamson highlighted the need to do.

Those visits emphasise the breadth of work that our international network covers, which is the product of sustained long-term in-country engagement. That ranges from health collaboration in Ireland to high-tech industry in North America and green hydrogen in Germany. Those areas of focus will help to create domestic opportunities, broaden our horizons, attract interest and investment and ultimately benefit the people of Scotland.

On our relationship with the European Union, the EU represents what might be the most successful peace project in world history, and we will continue to advocate for Scotland’s place in it and the world. As a fully integrated part of the EU for half a century, Scotland was woven into the very fabric of Europe. Our economy benefited from access to the world’s largest market, and our social and regulatory protections reflected the highest global standards. Scotland shares its fundamental values with the EU, including the rule of law, democracy, human dignity and equality. That is why the Scottish Government is committed to remaining close to the EU. We will continue to do that with constructive engagement on our priorities with the EU institutions through the work of Scotland House Brussels, bilaterally with member states and through our expanding network of international offices in Europe.

Consistent with that is Scotland’s commitment that we will seek to align with the European Union in a manner that contributes towards maintaining and advancing our world-class standards across a range of policy areas. Doing so helps to protect the health and wellbeing of people in Scotland and maintains Scotland’s international reputation. Further, by protecting the standards that Scotland enjoys, we will ease the process of Scotland’s return to the EU.

Until that point in time, we will where possible maintain alignment with the EU through primary and secondary legislation, including through the powers granted under the UK Withdrawal from the European Union (Continuity) (Scotland) Act 2021. That act provides the Scottish ministers with an essential power to maintain their ability to align with the EU where other legislative methods might not be available or the most appropriate. Our approach to using that power was set out in draft for Parliament’s consideration on 29 October 2021.

I also thank the Constitution, Europe, External Affairs and Culture Committee and the Rural Affairs, Islands and Natural Environment Committee for their helpful consideration of the draft documents and the continuing engagement between our respective officials in support of that. The comments received will improve the effectiveness of ministers’ consideration of the use of the 2021 act power and the overall alignment policy. I am pleased to report that, this morning, we laid in Parliament a revised policy statement reflecting Parliament’s contributions.

I thank the convener of the Constitution, Europe, External Affairs and Culture Committee for her remarks, and I very much look forward to debating her committee’s excellent report and hearing from members across the chamber who serve on her committee.

First, I want to reflect on how much the world has changed between my committee appearance in early February and now. I am sure that all colleagues are sickened by the evidence of war crimes committed by Russian forces in Ukraine that continues to emerge, and I welcome the decision to suspend the Russian Federation from the United Nations Human Rights Council. Russia must be held accountable for any abuses that it commits on Ukrainian territory, and it must fulfil its human rights obligations, including its on-going liability for breaches of the European convention on human rights. Above all—I am sure that I speak for everybody in the chamber when I say this—we salute the courage and perseverance of the Ukrainian people, and we will continue to stand shoulder to shoulder with them for as long as it takes.

I warmly welcome the publication of the committee’s report and this debate. The Scottish Government will respond to the report as a whole in the coming weeks. There are four main areas of the committee’s report that I will focus on in the time that has been allotted to me: the programme for government commitment to publish a new global affairs framework to guide Scotland’s international engagement; the role of the Scottish Government’s international offices; Scotland’s relationship with the European Union; and the Scottish Government’s international development work.

I am pleased that the committee and the Government agree on a number of areas in regard to the global affairs framework—in particular, but not limited to, the importance of ensuring join-up between our various domestic and international strategies. In the face of the invasion of Ukraine, nations are being tested on whether they support not just the principle but the reality of a rules-based approach to protect their values. That is why it is so important that we set out clearly what our values are and what we hope to achieve through our international work.

Scotland’s commitment to internationalism and upholding those values can be found in “Scotland’s Global Affairs Framework”, which we published yesterday. The framework sets out the values and principles that underpin our international activity, and recognises in particular that the global and regional context increasingly impacts the achievement of domestic objectives. For that reason, it is imperative that Scotland becomes more active internationally on issues that matter most in helping Scotland to flourish.

We are a nation that prides itself on being open, welcoming and connected, and we have demonstrated that we can make a constructive contribution to addressing global challenges. We have an important role to play in demonstrating high international standards and showing global leadership. I believe that Scotland’s contribution on the global stage would be increased with the powers of independence, but we must work within the limitations of the devolution settlement in the meantime. The global affairs framework shows how we can best do that. It highlights our determination not simply to make Scotland a fairer and more prosperous country but for Scotland to play its part in building a fairer and more prosperous world.

I am delighted to do that—in fact, I did that only last Thursday, when I was at Scotland House London to promote Scottish culture in the rest of the United Kingdom. It is something that we take seriously in that area and in others.

On the international network, I was delighted to see the committee’s enthusiasm for and consensus on the excellent job that Scotland’s international offices do day to day. The committee asked how we measure the contribution that the international offices make and recommended an annual report. It also recommended the production of detailed justifications for why specific locations were chosen for our international offices and how they fit in our strategic objectives.

We support the idea of an annual report. All the Scottish Government’s international offices measure their activities, output and successes on an on-going basis to inform the focus, prioritisation and rationale for work. We have a continuous process to ensure that our work is measurable, transparent and available to the public.

On future locations, the programme for government commits to reviewing our approach to future policy and economic engagement with a view to enhancing Scotland’s global reach and presence. That will build on the processes that we have in place and will go alongside our work to establish new offices in Copenhagen and Warsaw.

I begin by taking the opportunity to reflect positively on the contributions made by most speakers, particularly Clare Adamson, Jenni Minto, Bill Kidd, Stephanie Callaghan, Mark Ruskell, Emma Roddick, Ruth Maguire and Paul McLellan. It was good to hear the encouragement in those contributions for the dozens of people who work internationally and tirelessly to promote Scotland abroad. It is worth putting on record, as the Government certainly does, our appreciation for everyone working in both Scottish Government and Scottish Development International offices around the world.

In addition, all parties made good points about the opportunities for environmental leadership and trade promotion and regarding the Scottish Diaspora and alumni. Speakers referred to the feminist foreign policy that the Scottish Government is introducing and to the importance of combating human trafficking.

Much was said about the importance of delivery. I agree. That is why the Scottish Government is not only talking: we deliver, and we do that strategically when it comes to external affairs. For example, there has been huge progress in relation to hydrogen and renewable energy in Germany. We have memoranda of understanding with four of Germany’s Bundesländer and a series of delegations will come here in the weeks and months ahead. Many regions and towns around the world have been persuaded to sign up to the Edinburgh declaration on post-2020 biodiversity, more than 30 of them from France alone. We delivered a very successful COP26 with unprecedented international engagement and made real progress in persuading other countries to sign up to our declaration on women’s leadership on climate and to a path-breaking commitment on loss and damage.

We are worldwide leaders in the group of wellbeing economies and are opening up new opportunities in the Nordic and Arctic areas, including as a partner to the Nordic Council, with new offices about to open in Copenhagen. There has been a 50 per cent uplift in our international development. We have reported annually and publicly on our impact and will do so again this year.

Our cultural offer has had a huge international impact, with a series of very successful culture summits and the presence of many high-quality Scottish performers at international festivals and at the excellent cultural activities organised by our overseas offices.

We are now four minutes into Stephen Kerr’s contribution and he still has not addressed the subject of this afternoon’s debate, which is consideration of the Scottish Government’s international network. When will he start to address that?

I ask the member to forgive me. I am winding up.

We are playing our part in tackling global challenges including poverty, injustice and inequality, and we are continuing to amplify global south voices on issues such as climate change and vaccine equity. We will continue to strengthen Scotland’s engagement with partners across Europe and around the world.

I commend the committee for its report and I look forward to continuing the positive relations with the Scottish Government. Constant improvement is a shared endeavour and I look forward to it taking place in the weeks and months ahead.

Forgive me, I have quite a way to go in talking about the successes that are important to put on record. I have said that I will make some progress and that is what I intend to do.

Transformative trade and investment support has resulted—[Interruption.]

I know that the Tories do not want to hear this, but it is important to put it on the record. I have already said that I am going to make some progress with my list, because it is important that it is on the record.

Transformative trade and investment support has resulted in Scotland being the most attractive part of the United Kingdom, outside London, for foreign direct investment.

We immediately stepped up to the mark on Ukraine, generously and innovatively giving £4 million of crucial humanitarian finance and opening a supersponsorship scheme.

Our response to Brexit was widely admired and supported our much-valued European citizens. We have worked jointly with Ireland on many issues, including health, culture and our world-leading civtech scheme, all driven by an unprecedented bilateral framework.

Those are just some of the issues that have been strategically delivered, not just talked about.

It is worth putting on record my appreciation for the members who are genuinely interested in supporting the improvement of the Scottish Government’s international work. I echo committee members’ thanks for the organisations and individuals who took the time to provide the written and oral evidence that helped to inform the inquiry.

I am pleased that today’s debate has been largely in keeping with the Government’s warm welcome for the committee’s work. The debate has emphasised the largely constructive cross-party nature of the report and the ambition to make the most of our international activity.

I apologise that Sarah Boyack has not had the revised policy statement in good time and I agree that it would be good for all members to have such documents at their disposal before debates.

The revised policy statement includes revisions in respect of a number of key areas, all of which are designed to improve transparency. They include a commitment to provide regular information on our legislative intentions that will assist Parliament, stakeholders and the people of Scotland to better understand and scrutinise how ministers will approach decisions about alignment. I look forward to engaging further with the committee to consider and work towards implementing those commitments.

I pay tribute, as ever, to the cross-party support that the Scottish Government’s international development work finds in the Parliament. We do not take that support for granted, particularly in light of the cuts to aid that the UK Government has made with devastating impact on the ground in the global south, particularly during a global pandemic.

The committee raised a number of important points, including the importance placed on policy coherence by the Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development and the United Nations. Our commitment to policy coherence for sustainable development—PCSD—is well documented. It already forms a key plank of our international development strategy.

We are clear that international development finance is only one part of the development toolkit. The impact that global north countries can make is equally, if not more, important than their financial investment. They can achieve that not only across their Government policy but through encouraging their populations to think about the impact of their actions on others, whether in relation to climate change behaviours or fair trade choices.