3. Will the Minister make a statement on the impact of the Welsh Government's international strategy on Blaenau Gwent? OAQ54725

Thank you. The international strategy sets out my priorities to fulfil Wales’s international ambitions, including growing the economy of Wales through exports and inward investment and raising Wales’s international profile. Both of these ambitions have a direct impact on Blaenau Gwent.

Perhaps I can help out Darren Millar here by continuing the debate on the international strategy—I don't know. But certainly, the purpose of any strategy, whether it happens to be international or otherwise, that the Welsh Government pursues has to have an impact on places like Blaenau Gwent. And it is important, I believe, that the Welsh Government has a very clear vision, idea, on how that strategy is going to impact upon the people I represent. And so I hope that when the Government eventually does publish this strategy, it will have very clear objectives, very clear targets, enabling us to hold you to account, Minister, but also an explanation of how this work will have an impact on some communities such as Blaenau Gwent and the people I represent.

Well, I'm not sure if we'll be going into the granular detail of how every community in Wales will be impacted by the international strategy, but what I can tell you is that, specifically, we have earmarked and we are going to be highlighting some specific industries. One of those industries is cyber security, and you'll be aware that the National Digital Exploitation Centre in Ebbw Vale is a key part of that jigsaw. I think there are real opportunities for us to shout very loudly about the expertise we have here in Wales already. The key thing then is to make sure that those people in Blaenau Gwent can benefit from that, and that's why this relationship, I think, with the digital education centre is so crucial, to make sure that local people, when we see that expansion, are able to take advantage. But there are also other things that we need to be aware of. Blaenau Gwent is one of our exporting hotspots. It's amazing how many companies from Blaenau Gwent are actually exporting overseas, and, of course, right next door to you you've got the UNESCO world heritage site, and that's another opportunity, I think, for us to encourage people to come to the south Wales Valleys to see what we have to offer in terms of tourism.

Minister, one of the aims of the international strategy is to raise Wales's international profile. You know the Commonwealth Games are coming in 2022, and there'll be more than 250 events and more than 18 different sports, with more than 5,000 athletes coming from 71 countries globally. This will give a great boost to Birmingham, which is very close to north Wales, but there are certain sporting events for south-east Wales, especially Blaenau Gwent, like rowing, cycling, shooting, archery and hockey—these can be arranged, a couple of matches, and will bring the international community to Wales to boost our economy and our profile. So, may I ask what recent discussions have taken place between you and officials from the other side of the border regarding the Commonwealth Games—and it will definitely raise our profile and boost—and could you tell this Assembly how many sports you're trying to get to Wales to boost our economy, especially in south-east Wales? Thank you.

Thank you. Well, I have met with the organisers of the Commonwealth Games, and I think everybody is starting to feel that sense of excitement now that something very significant is coming very close to us. What we were discussing is to what extent we in Wales can exploit those opportunities. One of the things we're discussing, for example, is whether we can have some of the teams that are coming to compete based here in Wales. So, that was a discussion that we're seeing how we can move on. The other thing to note is that the Urdd has now officially partnered as the Welsh group that is going to be standing with the Welsh team—Mr Urdd is going to be their official logo, to promote the Welsh team. So, I think there is a huge amount of work that is already being undertaken, I'm pleased to say, in relation to the Commonwealth Games.

You referred there to the Urdd. You will be very aware of the excellent work undertaken by the Urdd and of its ambition to expand its work on an international level, thereby providing an international platform to the children of Blaenau Gwent and to children throughout Wales, to share the values of Wales across the world, for example through the goodwill message. I discussed some of these ideas with Urdd representatives this morning. But will you give consideration to how you could support these plans as part of your strategy, including the possibility of providing funding specifically to work on the Urdd's international strategies?

I do think that the Urdd is an organisation that has done excellent work internationally over the years, particularly that message of peace and goodwill. I think it’s important that we make more of that. The fact that the Urdd have recently been to Alabama to convey that message as to how Wales stood with the people there during those troubled times, as to how people dealt with issues that were going on in that area in the 1960s and 1970s. Of course, we do have discussions with the Urdd as to how we can assist them in future to strengthen the message and to convey that message effectively. I know that it’s part of their strategy to do far more on the international stage and, clearly, we should be strong partners for them. We will look at the minutiae as to how that can happen financially at a later date.