International relations of Wales
Charles III Heir Apparent William, Prince of Wales First Minister (list) Rt Hon Eluned Morgan MS (L) Deputy First Minister Huw Irranca-Davies MS (L) Counsel General-designate – Elisabeth Jones Chief Whip and Trefnydd – Jane Hutt MS (L) Permanent Secretary Sixth Senedd Llywydd (Presiding Officer) Elin Jones MS (PC) Leader of the Opposition Darren Millar MS (C) Shadow Cabinet Prime Minister Rt Hon Keir Starmer MP (L) Secretary of State for Wales Rt Hon Jo Stevens MP (L) Principal councils (leader list) Corporate Joint Committees Local twinning see also: Regional terms and Regional economy United Kingdom Parliament elections European Parliament elections (1979–2020) Local elections Police and crime commissioner elections Referendums The objectives of the international relations of Wales are the promotion of Wales and Welsh interests abroad, the development of the Welsh economy and the positioning of Wales as a globally-responsible nation.
[2] Relations are primarily undertaken through a network of 21 international offices operated by the Welsh Government, with representation in London, Belgium, Canada, China, Ireland, France, Germany, India, Japan, Qatar, the United Arab Emirates and in five offices across the United States.
These are known as reserved matters and include the conduct of foreign policy, declarations of war and the making of international treaties.
The conduct of foreign policy is not devolved to Wales and is managed by the UK government under the devolution settlement.
[7] In 2022, Laura McAllister, Professor of Public Policy at the University of Cardiff, argued that increasing globalization and the growth of Welsh exports would enable "a relatively small country such as Wales [to] now be more assertive" in the international arena.
[8] The Welsh Government's international policy since 2020, "Wales, Europe and the world" includes country relationships with Germany, France, Ireland, the United States and Canada; and regional relationships with the Basque Country in Spain, Brittany in France and Flanders in Belgium.
The strategy is to last 5 years and includes the following aims: The first minister has routinely embarked on diplomatic visits to other countries on Saint David's Day (1 March).
During his tenure, Carwyn Jones, made visits to Brussels, Washington D.C., New York, Barcelona and Montreal, between 2011 and 2018.
[13] Wales' started its Taith student exchange programme in September 2022 to replace the Erasmus scheme.
He visited Cardiff jointly with the ambassadors of Slovenia, Slovakia and the High Commissioner of Cyprus.
In 2018, with the UK's exit from the European Union imminent, the Welsh government opened an office in Berlin and another in Dusseldorf.
Activity began with a virtual meeting between the First minister and the German Ambassador to the UK, Herr Andreas Michaelis on 11 January 2021.
[25][26] The Basque Country is a priority partner region in Welsh Government's International Strategy and in July 2018, a memorandum of understanding was signed.
The Welsh Government said that it hoped to engage with countries with differing human rights to Wales, to influence change there.
Wales exports a variety of agricultural products to Japan, and cultural ties have been developed through rugby.
