Questions now from the party spokespeople. The Conservative spokesperson first—Darren Millar.

Diolch, Llywydd. Minister, can I ask you how many people from Wales are currently stranded overseas as a result of the coronavirus crisis?

So, we don't have the exact figures of the number of people who are stranded overseas at the moment. Obviously, the Foreign and Commonwealth Office is taking a lead on that, but we obviously are encouraging people to come home, if it is possible for them, now. That is the advice that has come from the FCO.

Obviously, this is a very worrying time for some of those people who are currently stranded overseas, and in particular their families who will be very concerned about their welfare. So, can I urge you to continue to work with the UK Government in order to support those individuals who may need assistance in order to get home?

One of the other groups of people for which the Welsh Government, of course, will be directly responsible are those Welsh Government employees currently overseas—many of them in countries that have felt the strongest effects of the COVID-19 problem. I just wonder whether you could provide some information on what action you're taking as a Welsh Government to safeguard those employees, what engagement you've had with their families, and whether there are arrangements for them to be repatriated to Wales in the near future.

We're in constant touch, obviously, with the 21 offices that the Welsh Government has around the world. The representatives based in the three cities in China have been working from home for an extensive period of time now. Most of our offices are situated within the FCO departments, so, along with the UK Government, obviously, they are following the advice that is coming from them, but there is constant communication with them. In fact, a group of them were supposed to be coming back last week to have a kind of annual debriefing; obviously, that was cancelled, But that communication is something that is ongoing and continuous, and obviously the welfare of our own staff is something we take very seriously. 

Obviously, Minister, our hearts go out to them at the moment in what may be very challenging circumstances in those local areas to which they've been assigned.

Minister, in the international strategy, you obviously identified that there are many important relationships, trade wise, that Wales has with many different nations and regions around the world, including, obviously, our most important partners on our doorsteps in the European Union, North America and indeed in Asia—including east Asia, which of course has felt the brunt of the coronavirus. I think it's fair to say that we're in very uncertain times economically, and it's quite possible that those relationships will become more strained, given the impact of many of the restrictions that are now bearing down upon businesses around the globe.

Now, those businesses that rely heavily on export and import trade are likely to be perhaps more greatly affected than many others in Wales. I wonder what discussions you may have had with your colleagues in the Cabinet and directly with those import-export businesses to determine what support they might need going forward. Because I do think that, given that you have some flexibility now as a result of some additional resource from the UK Government to support businesses, there does need to be a better understanding of the impact on those importers and exporters because of the nature of their work on a global basis.

Thank you. You're absolutely right in identifying the importance of trade. Trade contributes about 22 per cent of the GDP to the economy of Wales, so it is something that we have to take very, very seriously. Obviously, we are particularly concerned about the trade negotiations that should be ongoing with the European Union in relation to Brexit, knowing that that deadline is coming up. We of course would advocate that that should probably be pushed back now, under the circumstances.

There is another trade negotiation that was due to start next week with the United States, and obviously it's impossible for those trade negotiators now to actually get to the States in order to start those negotiations. So, I do think we have to be a bit more creative in the way that we approach these things. Certainly, in relation to import and export, supply chains for the Welsh economy are absolutely crucial, and certainly this is an area that we are keeping an eye on. Because, obviously, if people can't bring in the components that they need, then that will cause great problems and ultimately could force factories to close.

Plaid Cymru spokesperson, Dai Lloyd.

Thank you very much, Llywydd. Of course, with this huge black cloud of coronavirus, naturally, all the rules change. And in passing—following on from Nick Ramsay's question—Swansea city has been twinned with a city in China for many years, a city called Wuhan. It used to be a challenge trying to explain to people where Wuhan was, but no more.

This challenge of coronavirus stretches across all of the Government departments—of course, there are key departments—including specifically your department. Following the questions on trade and the expertise of your department on trade, may I ask what negotiations are you having on the international availability of medical trade? That is, the medical equipment for the medical crisis that we're having. I'm talking about ventilators and so on, and also other specialist international equipment that this country needs in this dire situation.

Thank you very much. Of course, it's very interesting to hear that Swansea is twinned with Wuhan. That's one of the reasons why I've written to local government exactly to find out who is twinned with who.

In terms of trade, you’re right to emphasise the importance of trying to see where we can have this equipment. What we have to note is that all of these countries are eager to keep their own ventilators, and that’s why the Government in the UK, and the Government in Wales as well, are trying to encourage businesses, particularly those that are engineering firms, to see whether they can adapt what they manufacture so that they can build ventilators for this crisis.

Thank you very much for that. And, of course, following on from that, we’re in an emergency and a critical situation at the moment, but this situation is likely to last for weeks, if not months. And, as Darren Millar said, we have people from Wales who are in various countries all over the world, pursuing their own businesses or even representing our country. So, may I ask you what negotiations are you having as a Minister, and as a department, with regard to supporting these people, in addition to the normal support, because of course, they will feel isolated by now because of all the restrictions on international travel, and so on? So, how do you maintain—? In addition to the business as usual, now that we’re in a crisis situation where all the rules do not appertain, what kind of additional support are you putting in place to look at those stranded overseas?

One of the things that we’ve done is to ensure that those people who do work for us overseas are not having too much contact with too many people. There are lots of activities that were in the pipeline that have been cancelled; a lot of export missions have been cancelled; people who were supposed to come to Wales, those have cancelled their trips as well. And, so, we’re trying to ensure that they are keeping safe. Of course, generally, they do collaborate with the UK teams that are there. So, they’re not operating in isolation on the whole, so they are following the guidance not only from us, but also the guidance coming from the UK Government. But I do think—. I’m having a meeting this afternoon with a person who is responsible for collaborating and looking at how we operate overseas.

Thank you for that, Minister. And, of course, we’ve heard the Chancellor of the Exchequer’s statement from London this week about the additional funding available. Of course, there is going to be a massive impact because of all the restrictions on meetings, travel and the restrictions on international travel, and a huge impact on the cultural and artistic life of Wales specifically. We’ve heard what’s happened to the Urdd and the cancellation of the Urdd eisteddfod until next year, and the closure of all the Urdd camps, and so on. In financial terms, because at the end of the day, we have to look at the financial side of it, following the statement of the Chancellor, what discussions have you had in looking at some kind of measures to help the arts sector in Wales?

We’ve been in discussions with the arts sector and, of course, the sector that’s in charge of major events. A lot of money comes into the country because of major events. I have been having detailed discussions with representatives from the Urdd over the weekend, but all kinds of other activities and other organisations are in the same situation as them. Certainly, we’ve seen that Big Retreat has been cancelled, and the Machynlleth Comedy Festival have been cancelled, and also Tafwyl, and the Llangollen board is meeting tonight. So, there are many organisations who are going to be affected by this, so we’re having discussions with them to see whether there’s anything that we can do but, of course, it’s a critical time for everyone, and what we have to do is see what our priorities are, of course.