Last month, the First Minister told the Senedd’s Culture, Communications, Welsh Language, Sport and International Relations Committee (“the Committee”) that “a particularly busy period” is coming up.
This article looks at what’s happening with international relations ahead of a statement by the First Minister on 13 June. We summarise the Welsh Government’s international strategy and its priority relationships with other countries and regions. We also outline some important dates leading up to the next Senedd election in 2026.
What’s coming up?
The First Minister outlined activities coming up in the next 12 months, including:
- Bilateral agreements with Flanders, Baden Württemberg and Silesia;
- Developing relations with Ontario following its Wales in Canada year;
- Events marking the sixtieth anniversary of the Welsh Window, when a stained glass window was gifted to a church in Birmingham, Alabama, following its bombing by white supremacists; and
- The Welsh Government’s year of Wales in France, to coincide with the Rugby World Cup.
The Welsh Government’s International Strategy
The Welsh Government’s International Strategy was launched in January 2020.
It was followed by five subject-specific action plans in November 2020 on diaspora engagement, priority relationships, diplomacy and soft power, Wales and Africa and exports. Each plan contains short-term actions for 2020-21 and medium-term actions for 2022-25.
The First Minister provided examples of actions from the diplomacy and soft power plan that will be carried out, including to:
- build on the role of the Future Generations Leadership Academy to promote the Well-being of Future Generations Act across the world;
- do more with partners on the circular economy, including the Circular Economy Hotspot 2024 event; and to
- develop links through the United Nations, including UNESCO.
Priority relationships
The International Strategy was published before the UK left the EU in March 2020.
The strategy identifies priority relationships with countries (Germany, France, Ireland, the US and Canada) and regions, all bar one (Québec) are in the EU. The Welsh Government has bilateral agreements with most of these.
The First Minister describes the EU as Wales’s “nearest and most important neighbour”, and “most important trading partner”.
The First Minister has said that the strategy adequately covers EU relations and told the Committee the strategy will be updated in 2025 to cover the remaining time before the 2026 Senedd election.
The Committee has previously said the absence of dedicated strategies to UK-EU relations at a UK- and Wales- level presents challenges when navigating, and providing effective scrutiny of, the post-Brexit UK-EU relationship.
On the extent to which the Welsh Government’s position is fed into UK-EU discussions, the Minister for Economy told the European Scrutiny Committee in March that “things have gone backwards”. He pointed to the Windsor Framework, on which the Welsh Government was not consulted.
Wales and Ireland
Wales and Ireland have a shared statement and joint action plan in place for 2021-25. This is the first of its kind for the Welsh Government’s priority relationships. It covers six areas for cooperation on:
- Political and Official Engagement;
- Climate and Sustainability;
- Trade and Tourism;
- Education and Research;
- Culture, Language and Heritage; and
- Communities, Diaspora and Sport.
The governments are now discussing plans to cooperate beyond 2025.
The Committee launched an inquiry into Wales-Ireland relations in December 2022. This has looked at this approach to international relations, how it is funded and the impact of Brexit. Organisations, governments and parliamentarians have given evidence to the inquiry and its report is expected in the coming months.
How does the Welsh Government report on progress?
The Welsh Government does not report on its International Strategy in one place.
The First Minister’s statement on 13 June will be his first specific statement on international relations since the start of the Sixth Senedd in June 2021.
The Welsh Government has produced two reports on its network of 21 overseas offices for 2021-22 and 2022-23. Office remits were published in November 2020.
According to the Ministerial Code:
Annually, a list will be published of all travel overseas by ministers costing more than £500 per trip, together with the total cost of all ministers’ visits overseas.
The First Minister has said costings will be published after the end of each financial year in April. The costings were last published on 15 December 2022.
As the Minister responsible for international relations, the First Minister attends the Committee for annual scrutiny, as well as scrutiny of the departmental budget of £8.38 million.
The committee recently agreed to report annually on the Welsh Government’s international work, with the first report expected later this year.
Beyond the next 12 months
The First Minister has said the Welsh Government will renew both its International Strategy and its Wales-Ireland relations plans in 2025.
We will also see important UK-EU developments, such as the ongoing implementation of agreements and governance meetings. There are also key dates in 2025-26 to watch out for in the Trade and Cooperation Agreement, including for different reviews and for the renegotiation of some areas, like fisheries.
The war in Ukraine will also continue to shape international relations throughout this period.
Article by Sara Moran, Senedd Research, Welsh Parliament
