Part of the debate – in the Senedd at 4:04 pm on 11 November 2020.
Diolch, Llywydd. Just some words from me as chair of the Wales international cross-party group, and we've found as a group there are so many facets, as reflected by the First Minister today, to Wales's international links—sporting, cultural, humanitarian—so many links to what we might call soft power, and, of course, diaspora. I'm pleased to hear the First Minister refer to all of those. On diaspora, I was a bit jealous of our Irish cousins, looking to the new President-elect of the United States as a descendant of Irish immigrants. He might not be of Welsh descent, but he knows plenty of people who are, being from Scranton at the heart of Welsh Pennsylvania there, and I'm certainly excited about the possibilities for building ever closer ties with the United States following his election. Like so many people who push for and campaign for Welsh independence, I consider myself to be an internationalist, and, whilst we haven't quite persuaded the First Minister on that front, it is good to hear his determination today to build on those international ties that Wales has for the benefit of generations to come here in Wales.
I thank Eluned Morgan for her work as Minister for international links. The benefit of having a dedicated Minister is the time that can be allocated to that, so, in thanking her, can I just seek an assurance from the First Minister that he will be making sure that he can dedicate the time necessary to build these international links that will be so important to us in years to come as we continue to flourish as a nation?