I nearly withdrew my name from this debate after hearing David Melding talking about Goronwy Owen and me not planning a speech about Goronwy Owen, but we'll say that I was going to do that but there's no point in doing it because David Melding has already done it. [Laughter.]

I'll speak briefly as chair and one of the founders of the cross-party group on Wales international. It's a group, for those of you who haven't been involved with it so far, that is a forum for discussing Wales's place in the world in several different ways. Our discussions within that group have varied from using foreign languages in Wales to the diaspora, to soft power and all of the things that we've heard discussed today. I was very eager to see the cross-party group established because I am an internationalist who believes very strongly in the benefit that will come to Wales, as a small nation and a proud nation, of playing as full a part as possible in as many international networks as possible.

In making remarks on this report, could I thank the committee, which I'm not a part of, for its work in putting this important report together? I won't spend time discussing the main part of the report in terms of the relationship between Wales and Europe in the years to come. On our benches, Delyth Jewell has dealt with that issue, but, of course, others have contributed on the important decisions that will have to be made in the coming years following the change in our relationship with Europe that seems to be on the way. All I will say is that I believe as an internationalist in the need, whatever happens, to build bridges and to strengthen the relationship between Wales and countries across the EU.

I want to make some comments on chapters 2 and 4. Chapter 2 is to do with the need, according to the committee, for a new strategy in terms of our international relations. I do agree entirely with the recommendation from the committee for the need for that kind of strategy. I do welcome the fact that this Government has appointed a Minister who is responsible for international relations, and I'm very pleased that that has happened, of course, after calls from my fellow Member Steffan Lewis over such a long period. But having the Minister in herself isn't enough; we need to be clear as to what the function of the Minister is. And in order to be clear about what that function is we need a strategy, a very clear strategy, on the kinds of ways that we can develop and build on those relationships that Wales has internationally already, and also to make new relationships.

Moving on to chapter 4, this is something that means so much to me: the idea of using our international friendships, our soft power, our compelling power on an international level, and of course to build on the direct relationships that we have with individuals in all parts of the world through the Welsh diaspora. I'll talk about Wales International, and I'll declare an interest: my father was a chair of that organisation for many years. It's a body that is still strong today, but which was established back in the 1940s when T. Elwyn Griffiths was in the armed forces in Cairo in Egypt. He realised at that time that Scotland had far more bodies and support for their diaspora, but there was nothing Welsh. So, he established this union in order to draw the Welsh diaspora together in Egypt, established a magazine, Seren y Dwyrain—Eastern Star—and found a problem in that the letter 'y' is used so much in Welsh—more than in other languages—he couldn't get enough of that letter in the press in Cairo. But, anyway, that was the start of formal networks for Welsh people overseas, and I'm pleased, as I say, that that is a body that is still undertaking activities. But there are other bodies. Global Welsh is worth mentioning, and that's one I've been involved with, which creates modern networks in business, among individuals across the world. My appeal here would be to the Government to take advantage of, to use, to invest in and to build on these bodies that already exist and have been building their relationships over a period of a great many years.

Wales is not a large country, but it's a country that has friends across the world, and relationships through sport and the arts and music and food, and through our national conscience. I'd like to move towards a humanitarian fund in Wales in the years to come. That's something that could benefit us as well. It's a country that has always looked beyond its borders, through Goronwy Owen and others, and there's an opportunity now, given that we have our own Parliament, and our own international relations Minister, to go to places that we haven't visited before. I'm sure that you, in getting a proper strategy, will have the Assembly's support as we look for new friends across the world.