11. 8. Statement: Wales for Africa

Part of the debate – in the Senedd at 6:24 pm on 22 November 2016.

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Photo of Vaughan Gething Vaughan Gething Labour 6:24, 22 November 2016

Thank you for the comments and questions, and an invitation to take advantage of the First Minister not being in the Chamber. I'll decline the opportunity to try and set policy on the fly. This is, as you know, quite properly the remit of the First Minister in terms of external engagement from Wales. But, look, in terms of where we are as a Government, I think we've been really clear that, through all the difficulties of this year—and we all have seen the response within our own country about people who look or sound different and the way they're being treated, in the referendum campaign and afterwards—regardless of what side you were on in that campaign, none of us should try and soft-soap or avoid the reality that our constituents have been made to feel unwelcome, and that is not something that any of us should try and avoid talking about. And it's been really important for this Government to restate the fact that we want an outward-looking country that is positive and confident about our place in Britain, Europe and the wider world. And that’s more than trade, although, of course, trade is an important means of engaging with other countries. Much of what I saw is not about trade, it’s about our engagement with improving public services and actually recognising we’ve got a role in supporting sustainable development in different parts of the world and that we’ve got a direct benefit and interest in doing that as well. That means working with people and alongside them, rather than telling them what to do. So, that’s the nature of our engagement and our relationship, our place within the world, but also what sort of country do we want to be as well. I actually think that this Government has been really consistent about that as well. You see it in a range of different areas that we talk about and the way we talk about people who live here: that we have an outward-looking group of public services that require and rely upon people from different parts of the world coming here. We should welcome them not just for the jobs they do but for the contributions they make to our community and our country. I take on board what you say about how we assess the impact of this particular process and that people do give thought to not just the 10 years of what’s been done, but getting beyond the anecdotes and saying, ‘What is the sum, the total of the impact?’ I think there’s more work to be done on that.

I want to finish with a point about the reciprocal benefit to people. I mentioned about the NHS staff and those three young men I met from west Wales. Their two weeks working in Uganda had a significant impact on them. What they saw and experienced within the first few days was truly amazing, and not just about their points about the workplace and the safety requirements that don’t exist. Just a simple example: there was a workman who never had any boots and one of the lads bought this guy some boots. The next day, after he’d taken them home, he came back not wearing them and he said they were the best boots that he had and he was keeping them home for best. So, that’s someone who’s working in bare feet on a construction site. It tells you something about the real difference between this country—and all that we should be incredibly grateful for and what is just normal in a different part of the world. We have much to gain and much to give and should be looking at it in both those senses.