Questions Without Notice from Party Spokespeople

Part of 2. Questions to the Minister for International Relations and Welsh Language – in the Senedd at 2:40 pm on 5 February 2020.

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Photo of Baroness Mair Eluned Morgan Baroness Mair Eluned Morgan Labour 2:40, 5 February 2020

I think the important thing in relation to diaspora, first of all, is we've commissioned some work on this, because there are a lot of people who are active in this space already, and the challenge for us is how to get them co-operating and working together so that they're not competing and that it's easy for people in Wales and abroad to understand where is the best platform. So, we've commissioned some work on that and we're waiting for that to come back. 

But I think that, within the diaspora strategy, there will be different levels of what we're expecting to do. So, it may be that we could use some very famous Welsh people simply to shout on behalf of Wales and that would be something great in itself to raise our profile. I am pretty focused also on the economy. So, I think there will be a very clear diaspora strategy in relation to how we drive the economy and that could be how we help companies in Wales to link up with members of the diaspora abroad or even chambers of commerce or whatever—any help they can get, if they want to export. And the same thing with inward investment, it may be that we can use that as a channel. I think that will need a lot of resources. If we're going further towards what you were talking about, that would really demand a huge amount of additional resource. And I think, if I'm honest, I don't think we have the capacity within the department to take on that kind of thing. But what I would like to do is to try and create a platform where people can get on with that themselves, rather than the Government being a go-between constantly. This has got to be a strategy that is owned by the people of Wales as well.