4. Will the Minister make a statement on the Welsh Government's international relations strategy? OAQ53734

Diolch yn fawr. I announced my intentions to produce a new strategy communicating our international vision for Wales in January. We are still in the drafting stages of this work, and I expect to put a draft to Cabinet in early May, with a final document ready for publication before the summer.

Thank you very much, Deputy Presiding Officer. Well, in that case, I'm delighted to have caught you drafting the strategy. That's certainly something to be welcomed. We're all aware of the disaster of Brexit and the impact that's having on the standing of the United Kingdom across the world. It's important, therefore, that the Welsh Government renews its work to promote Wales as a place to do business and a place where we can create new business links across different countries. We know also that there's a significant investment taking place in the Heads of the Valleys and a Valleys programme that looks at promoting the Valleys as a place to invest and a place to do business. Can you, Minister, ensure that the Valleys and the Heads of the Valleys are central to your work in terms of international relations? Promoting the Heads of the Valleys and the whole of the Valleys as places where we can create businesses, create new business activity, I hope, will be central to the Welsh Government's wider vision of an international relations strategy.

Thank you, and you're absolutely right that, actually, the fact that we have no idea what is going to happen in terms of our relationship with Europe is making it extremely difficult to draft an international strategy, because there would be fundamental difference depending on where we end up. If we leave the European Union, and in particular if we leave with no deal, then we need to really work very, very hard to rebuild those relationships with our continental colleagues where we have similar values and we have 60 per cent of our trade and goods going to them. Of course, we would have to reinforce that. If we don't end up there and we somehow or other miraculously finish up as a part of the single market, then we will adjust our strategy as a result. So, it is difficult at the moment to know exactly how to develop the strategy.

But the one thing I can tell you is that all this Brexit nonsense is making it much more difficult for us to land inward investment into Wales. When people say they're interested in investing, the question they ask is, 'Can I export to that 500 million people market on your neighbouring continent?' And the answer at the moment is, 'We're not sure.' Now, that is not the basis for investment. So, of course, we're really concerned about that.

You will be aware that, over the years, there have been over 100 individual investments to the Heads of the Valleys region, where we've safeguarded more than about 16,000 jobs over the years, but I think fundamental to what we need to do—because you have got to ask in this global society why people are going where—I think one of the things we need to do is to make sure that we upskill the people in the Valleys so that we are offering a skilled workforce, which will really attract businesses to those areas. So, I think that's a fundamental piece of this jigsaw.