5. Debate on the External Affairs and Additional Legislation Committee report: The Welsh Government's Draft International Strategy

Part of the debate – in the Senedd at 4:06 pm on 4 March 2020.

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Photo of Rhun ap Iorwerth Rhun ap Iorwerth Plaid Cymru 4:06, 4 March 2020

(Translated)

I speak as chair of the Commonwealth Parliamentary Association in Wales, which is a very useful network for us as a Parliament to reach out to other Parliaments in other parts of the world, not only in order to learn from each other in terms of democratic practice, which is very important, but also in making those connections that come as a result of that, and which can bring cultural and economic benefits to us as a nation.

I'm also speaking as a member of the National Assembly rugby team, which of course is another element of the engagement work that we are involved with as a Parliament. And, yes, it brings a smile to one's face, but there is a serious aspect to it, too, because in playing as a Parliament against the Assemblée Nationale from France—and beating them, by the way, just a fortnight ago—again, we are reaching out to our partners in other countries. I do look forward to playing against and beating the UK Parliament and the Scottish Parliament in the next few weeks.

But in all seriousness, what's important to me in this period of the development of an international strategy by the Welsh Government is that it's actually happening. We can talk about the weaknesses, and some of them have been mentioned by other Members already. I think that the recommendations within it are a little narrow in scope. We have heard concerns that there are targets here that are difficult to measure, but this is only the beginning of the journey, and I recognise that. What I hope to see is that the strategy will become a dynamic document and something that touches upon all of the Government's work in years to come.

As we've heard already from so many different contributors—and they have been very interesting contributions on Welsh connections in all parts of the world—Wales is a nation that is international, and has reached out and made its mark in so many different places across the world, in difficult circumstances. I think the latest that we have been discussing is the hospital in Wuhan in China—one of the largest hospitals in China, which was at the heart of the concerns surrounding coronavirus earlier this year, and continues to be so, and that hospital was established by a Welshman, Griffith John from Swansea.

But what we have in this network that extends to all parts of the world is the potential to develop those connections, and to take advantage of those links. When one looks at the excellent work that GlobalWelsh has done in a very short period of time, and the work that's being done by Undeb Cymru a'r Byd over a longer period, then we have those networks in place. And what we can do by having an international strategy, and hopefully seeing the Government continuing to develop that strategy in earnest, is the hope of seeing that the work that's been done can be built on in order to develop it.