3. Statement by the Minister for International Relations and Welsh Language: International Strategy

Part of the debate – in the Senedd at 3:40 pm on 14 January 2020.

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Photo of David Rees David Rees Labour 3:40, 14 January 2020

Can I thank the Minister for her statement and also welcome the international strategy, which is now in its final version? And I hope the report of the External Affairs and Additional Legislation Committee gave you some sort of extra thinking before you put that strategy together.

The strategy is very much appreciative of where we want to go, but does still focus sometimes on our strengths and perhaps not a total vision of where we will be in five or 10 years' time, which I think is crucial. What you want Wales to be in 10 years' time is critical and is part of your vision. So, I think we need to ensure that, perhaps in the coming months, we focus on that in particular.

A couple of points on the strategy. I'll try and keep it brief, Llywydd, because I know you're conscious of the time. You don't mention EU programmes very much. It was mentioned this afternoon to the First Minister about Erasmus. There are two mentions and you will 'push for' involvement in these programmes, but the question is: what does 'push' actually mean? Are you as Wales going to be looking at how you can actually get involved in these programmes outside? Because Horizon Europe, which is what the successor is, and Erasmus+ are going to be crucial to our education sectors. So, where are we going with that?

How will we increase our presence elsewhere? Because I noticed that, of the memoranda of understanding you have with various regions and nations, three are in regions of Spain. You talk about a relationship with Spain in regard to education. We have no office in Spain or anywhere in Spain. So, are you looking to actually produce an office somewhere in Spain to link into all those associations you currently have? And also how are you going to be using those offices? Because it's Brussels, three in Germany, I believe—or two in Germany definitely—one in France, but we need to expand into Europe. Because I didn't see Europe as a separate entity in a sense in the discussion. It seems to me that the flow was that everyone would be treated the same. Are you going to focus more on Europe and, if so, how do we separate the European agenda from the global agenda? In the sense of also in Europe, what is the position of the Welsh Government on ensuring that we build up those relationships? Because outside of China, it is Europe you've got memoranda of understanding with, effectively—I think Quebec is one, on aerospace, but it is the focus of the Welsh Government's interests. So, we need to build up our offices in those areas and we need—as was pointed out by Delyth Jewell, I think—a form of assessing the success of those offices for Welsh Government in relation to the strategy that you've set out in this document.

Also, I agree with Delyth, and the committee has mentioned this many times, about trade and the UK Government and the involvement of the Welsh Government in the second of the negotiating mandate, plus the process through. But, other than that, have you had discussions with other UK departments as to how you can actually work together on this? Because it will require co-ordination and collaboration with UK departments. You mentioned yourself, in your document, that you will be dependent on some departments of the UK Government. Have you had those discussions and where are we on those discussions, so that we show how we can deliver this with our collaboration?

I also looked at the sectors that you picked up on. We picked up on three. I understand the three. I'm not going to repeat those three. But I do worry that we don't just focus on those three, because our long history of industrialisation in Wales and our heavy industries, which are moving ahead in the twenty-first century—. I'll take steel as a perfect example. We're not steel of the nineteenth century; we are steel of the twenty-first century. So, are you ensuring that those sectors are also going to be equally respected and worked on and supported in the global marketplace so that we can push those? Aerospace would be another clear example. These are industries that have been fundamental to the Welsh economy and are still going to be fundamental to the future Welsh economy, not just the three that you have identified in the document.

Finally, soft power. I totally agree that soft power is going to be crucial. The Welsh office in Brussels is expert at soft power. I hope you're able to expand that and how you're going to use soft power, not just the diaspora, but the soft power we currently have and the skills we have in soft power to actually benefit the Welsh economy and the strategy to ensure that we progress this through, in Brussels, in Europe and across the world.