Alister Jack has said Scotland “benefits hugely” from the UK Government’s international work ahead of an appearance at a Commons committee discussing how Scotland is promoted abroad.
On Monday, the Scottish Secretary and other ministers will speak to the Scottish Affairs Committee, which is conducting an inquiry into how Scottish trade and culture is promoted internationally.
A report provided to the committee noted the UK has 282 diplomatic missions covering 180 countries and territories around the world.
It comes after a row between the Scottish and UK governments on Holyrood ministers’ visits abroad.
Foreign Secretary James Cleverley told officials to take a “strengthened approach” to visits from devolved ministers abroad and to ensure Westminster representatives attend any meetings with foreign governments.
This angered Scottish External Affairs Secretary Angus Robertson, who accused the Foreign Secretary of making “misleading” statements as he called for the guidance to be withdrawn.
Ahead of the committee appearance, Mr Jack said: “Our recent report shows that Scotland benefits hugely from the scale and reach of the UK Government’s international engagement and influence.
“From international security to trade and culture, the UK Government’s international departments and agencies are securing the interest of all parts of the United Kingdom.
“The UK and Scottish governments enjoy a positive and productive working relationship promoting Scotland overseas, and contributing to growing Scotland’s economy."
He added: “On trade and investment – including Scottish agriculture, universities, food and drink – we can and do work together well.
"Our recent delegations to New York’s Tartan Week are a great example of Scotland’s two governments collaborating.”
Foreign Office minister David Rutley said British diplomats promoted Scotland’s “rich culture and heritage” around the world.
He said: “The UK’s permanent membership of the UN Security Council and our leading position in Nato, the G7, the G20 and other global organisations enable us to make progress on the vital issues that matter to everyone in the UK – including Ukraine, climate change and human rights.
“The FCDO’s joint HQ in East Kilbride has almost 1,000 staff who are at the heart of shaping and delivering UK foreign policy as a force for good in the world.”
Why are you making commenting on The Herald only available to subscribers?
It should have been a safe space for informed debate, somewhere for readers to discuss issues around the biggest stories of the day, but all too often the below the line comments on most websites have become bogged down by off-topic discussions and abuse.
heraldscotland.com is tackling this problem by allowing only subscribers to comment.
We are doing this to improve the experience for our loyal readers and we believe it will reduce the ability of trolls and troublemakers, who occasionally find their way onto our site, to abuse our journalists and readers. We also hope it will help the comments section fulfil its promise as a part of Scotland's conversation with itself.
We are lucky at The Herald. We are read by an informed, educated readership who can add their knowledge and insights to our stories.
That is invaluable.
We are making the subscriber-only change to support our valued readers, who tell us they don't want the site cluttered up with irrelevant comments, untruths and abuse.
In the past, the journalist’s job was to collect and distribute information to the audience. Technology means that readers can shape a discussion. We look forward to hearing from you on heraldscotland.com
Comments & Moderation
Readers’ comments: You are personally liable for the content of any comments you upload to this website, so please act responsibly. We do not pre-moderate or monitor readers’ comments appearing on our websites, but we do post-moderate in response to complaints we receive or otherwise when a potential problem comes to our attention. You can make a complaint by using the ‘report this post’ link . We may then apply our discretion under the user terms to amend or delete comments.
Post moderation is undertaken full-time 9am-6pm on weekdays, and on a part-time basis outwith those hours.
Read the rules hereLast Updated:
Report this comment Cancel