Rt. Hon JACK McCONNELL MSP

FIRST MINISTER

EU-ACP joint parliamentary assembly

23 November

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Introduction

Co-Presidents and Members of the Joint Parliamentary Assembly. Your Excellencies [or, “Ambassadors and Members of the Diplomatic Corps]. Commissioner [Louis Michel, EU Commissioner for Development and Humanitarian Aid]. Ladies and gentlemen.

I’m very pleased to be with you all for this 10th African Caribbean Pacific – Joint Parliamentary Assembly and I am delighted that you chose to meet here in .

I know that you have been here for several days, but I’d like to take the opportunity to formally welcome you to our country. I’m very pleased to see so many representatives of European, African, Caribbean and Pacific States – and Parliaments – here in Scotland.

I want to take this opportunity to say how much I support this Assembly and the work that you do. This is a unique and special partnership between north and south.

By coming together in this way, we are able to get new perspectives on problems and to help build a common understanding between Europe and our ACP partners.

That dialogue is really important for all of us. And I’m very proud that Scotland was the location for the first ever meeting of this assembly.

20 years ago, just after the signing of the 3rd Lomé Convention, delegates gathered in Inverness to work together in the interests of all. And, I’m pleased that we have been able to provide the support for you to bring this Assembly back to Scotland once more. This was something that we really wanted to do.

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The membership of both the ACP partnership and the European Union has really grown since then of course. And this Assembly has grown in stature and influence too.

Over the years, you’ve really worked hard together to develop and strengthen the relationship between the EU and its ACP partners – and you’ve contributed to achieving the objectives of the Lomé Convention – and now the Cotonou agreement.

You’ve worked hard to ensure that the ACP partners get a fair deal on trade. But, you’ve done more than that too. You’ve contributed to the fight against poverty and killer diseases like AIDS; you’ve promoted human rights, democracy and the vital role of women in development, you’ve worked to protect the environment and much more.

You have made a significant contribution in 20 years - but there’s still more to be done.

The full and ambitious programme you’ve set yourself this week is testament to that. You’ve already been debating a range of challenging issues - from coping with natural disasters to the Millennium Development Goals – that are without question some of the biggest challenges facing our world today.

Modern Scotland

While the Assembly has changed since it last came to Scotland – Scotland has changed radically too.

This is a great time for the ACP-EU to be meeting in Scotland.

It is a time of real for our country – a time of change and of economic, social and cultural renewal.

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Of course, Scotland has strong traditions - and a history of achievement that we remain proud of.

Our thinkers – such as Adam Smith, David Hume and Francis Hutcheson – were, after all, leaders in the Enlightenment that gave rise, ultimately, to the values that the democratic world still upholds.

And Scotland helped create many of the things in the modern world: from penicillin to tarmac roads; from the pneumatic tyre to the electric light; and from television to the telephone.

We celebrate these achievements wherever we can – but, we are by no means stuck in the past.

The Scotland you are visiting this week has been has been renewed and revitalised by political change of the last six years.

Six years ago, after almost three centuries of absence, our new was established – and, we in Scotland once again got responsibility for our own affairs.

We have the best of both worlds. Legislative and administrative responsibility for domestic issues – whilst getting the benefits of being part of a big, powerful nation state.

Devolution has brought government closer to the people of Scotland and, I believe, we have better government as a result. In education, in enterprise, in public health and in other areas too.

Because of devolution, we have been able to make landmark decisions that will have a profound impact on our country and our people for years to come.

In all aspects of Scottish life we are making a difference.

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• From our action to ban smoking in public places and to protect the long-term health of our nation;

• to the introduction of enterprise education in our schools;

• through to boosting our population by welcoming Fresh Talent to live and work here.

I like to think that, Scotland has once again got a spring in its step – and you can see a renewed purpose and energy wherever you look.

In recent years, Scotland has give the world the MRI scanner and the automated bank teller – and, as we look forward, we hope to play our part in discovering cures for cancers.

Scotland is now a major player in a number of exciting new industries – from biotechnology to life sciences. We are a leading European financial centre - home to two of the top 7 banks in Europe. And we have world class universities with a powerful research and technology base.

And our ambitions for the future mean we will increasingly use our unique position within the UK to enhance our profile and develop our strengths.

Europe

This assembly is a good example of how the European Union can be a positive force in the world.

I am passionate about the benefits of European partnership.

Based on the premise that collaboration and co-operation is the most powerful way of working for the greater good, the EU is a place where we can come together to address the issues that matter to us all.

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Together we have enhanced our ability to tackle the threats posed crime and terrorism. We have created a cleaner environment. We have improved health and consumer protection.

Scotland has benefited a great deal through the UK’s membership of the EU over the last three decades.

Of course, the workings of an institution representing 25 nation states can be frustrating at times. Finding a consensus amongst such diversity represents a challenge. But as has been said before, how much better to endure a tedious committee meeting than the war which ravaged our continent in every generation before.

That's why the EU can be a model for relations between nations.

Now, as it faces the 21st century, it needs to reform further - to give place to the nations and peoples within it who do not have a nation state of their own. To strike a balance between common standards and flexibility across cultures and climate zones.

And to take seriously its responsibilities to the global community, which is why I throw my weight behind the calls to reform agricultural subsidy and take down trade barriers which disadvantage the world's poor.

And, today, we are determined to be as fully involved as we can be. That’s why, Scotland is actively involved in REGLEG, a powerful network of super regions and ancient nations– and it’s why Scottish Ministers participate in the Council of Ministers.

International development

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Devolution is giving Scotland a platform from which, not only can we make our mark again in Europe – but we can raise our international profile more widely too.

Our devolved government has been working hard to promote modern Scotland across the world. We are working to attract more visitors and increase tourism; encourage business links in North America, Europe and the Far East and promote Scottish goods and services throughout the world.

However, we know that there is more for us to achieve than merely establishing business and economic links with other rich countries.

Scotland’s increasingly significant international profile means that we also have responsibilities – and these are in addition to the international development responsibilities of the UK government.

Of course, poverty in the developing world has long been a concern of the ACP- EU, and it has informed many of your own debates over the years.

In July, G8 Scotland focused all our minds on the actions the developing world must take to help those who don’t have so much.

We were proud that the G8 leaders came to Scotland to discuss those issues, and it has certainly strengthened our own resolve to do our bit to make poverty history.

The decisions taken at G8 Scotland will go some way to providing better aid, less unsustainable debt and better and fairer trade.

Scotland endorses those decisions as a minimum, and we will give our full support to the developed world’s broader effort to provide help in developing countries.

And we now look to the WTO – and the talks of the member states to take a lead in breaking down the barriers to trade the developing word face.

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Africa

Africa is by no means the only place in the world that needs support from the international community - but no-one could deny that Africa is the foremost development challenge facing the international community today.

It is the only continent in the world where human development is in steady decline.

The gap between rich and poor is an injustice that we in Scotland are determined to do our bit to help set right. We believe, that even a small country like ours, should stand in solidarity with others.

That’s why have developed our own International Development policy.

This sets out the unique contribution we in Scotland can make to the world – in addition to the contribution that we make to the broader UK development agenda.

Our strategy builds on our long-standing historical role of looking beyond our borders to both gather and exchange knowledge – and it acknowledges Scotland’s collective efforts and aspiration – as a prosperous nation – to play its part in tackling global inequality.

Malawi

Because Scotland is a country of only 5 million people, we know that our contribution will only ever be modest.

We are under no illusion about the size of the problems facing the developing world and just what our small devolved nation can expect to achieve.

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That’s why we are focusing our efforts on one country – ensuring that the collective efforts of this small nation have the biggest possible impact.

As a start, working with the UK Department for International Development, we are concentrating on .

Scotland has long – and, largely, proud – historical connections with Malawi.

But, today, Malawi is one of the poorest countries in the world, and there are political difficulties that make the challenge of providing aid even more complex.

In May, I went to Malawi and saw the challenges that the country faces. There, I saw a beautiful country and a spirited people being held back by poverty, hunger and disease.

In the past, we in the West have perhaps thought that we could solve the problem of international development simply by throwing money at it.

But, while extra resources are always welcome, they hardly ever lead to meaningful change over the long term.

That’s why we are working hard to develop a partnership approach with Malawi.

This approach is about recipricocity and mutuality. It is about sharing problems and working together to find solutions.

I know that recipricocity is a principle that you in the ACP-EU are very familiar with in relation to your own debates on international trade – and I think it is a principle that must sit at the very heart of international development in the 21st century.

I hope what we are building with Malawi will become a model for 21st century development. It may be a model for other countries to follow – particularly small

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countries who want to see their efforts making the biggest possible difference on the ground.

Conclusion

Young people are a particular focus of our developing relationship with Malawi – and they are central to our whole approach to International Development. I know this is something you in the ACP-EU recognise too.

Flows of people and ideas between countries are more important than ever – and it is crucial that we do all that we can to help our future generations to create links and work together to solve the problems that hold much of Africa and the developing world back.

We in Scotland have recently stepped up our efforts to encourage links between our children and young people and their counterparts in the developing world – as well as between our educational systems.

We are already making real progress - and we will do even more: o Today, more than one in ten of the overseas students at Scotland’s universities are from African countries. We want them and others to come here not only enrich and strengthen our higher education system, but to provide our students and many others with a valuable window on the world. o Our universities are now more active in maintaining links with their sister institutions in Africa and across the developing world. o And there are now active links between 152 Scottish schools and their counterparts in Africa.

By encouraging these links, I believe that we will bring Scotland’s young people closer to their counterparts in Africa and the developing world.

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There are signs that there is a generational shift in understanding.

When I was a teenager, I was aware of the global issues of the day. I campaigned and stood up for the great causes of the time.

But today’s young Scots aren’t just aware of the challenge facing the developing world. They don’t just care about it. The evidence I see in classroom across the country – is that more and more of them understand why the injustice exists, and they understand what needs to be done.

They have a real passion about the problems of the world – and a desire to do something about it – whether those problems are in Africa or elsewhere. From the Tsunami, Earthquakes, and hurricanes there is hardly a part of the world that has not been touched by tragedy in 2005.

Our increasing interdependence, derived by changes and improvements in technology and communication mean our world is getting smaller all the time. I want future generations of young Scots to play their part in reducing the gaps that exist between our countries.

By creating more and more links between our young people and the young people of Africa and elsewhere, I believe that we will help this generation of Scotland’s youngsters find a focus for their energy so that they can make a difference for decades to come.

I hope you have had a successful conference. I wish you all well for the future and hope that we can welcome you back to Scotland.

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