Seòmar agus comataidhean

The parliamentary process provides mechanisms through which the Parliament can request information about the Scottish Government’s engagement with these countries.

Officials are required to adhere to the Civil Service Code when engaging with government officials from other countries.

There has been no recent contact with Foreign and Commonwealth Ministers on Scottish Government officials’ contact with these two countries but the Scottish Government engages in regular dialogue with the UK Government. A Memorandum of Understanding is in place to facilitate this interaction.

Scottish Government officials engage with Ministers on a regular basis. As part of this process, officials update Ministers on their engagement and dialogue with officials from other countries, in accordance with the Civil Service Code.

No new guidance has been published. I refer the member to the answer to questions S4W-14016, S4W-14017 and S4W-14018 on 25 April 2013. All answers to written Parliamentary Questions are available on the Parliament’s website, the search facility for which can be found at:

http://www.scottish.parliament.uk/parliamentarybusiness/28877.aspx.

Due to the potential high number of engagements across the Scottish Government officials and government officials from (a) Qatar and (b) Argentina, a full break down of engagements in the last six months and could only be obtained at a disproportionate cost. In addition, I refer the member to the answer to question S4W-14019 on 25 April 2013. All answers to written parliamentary questions are available on the Parliament’s website, the search facility for which can be found at:

http://www.scottish.parliament.uk/parliamentarybusiness/28877.aspx.

The Scottish Government places a high value on its relationships with other countries and engages with government officials from other countries on a number of areas of mutual interest. For example, the topics summarised for Ministers on Qatar include official to officials’ dialogue on trade and investment, Scotland’s energy and climate justice policies, planned visits to the Gulf region, proposed inward visits, opportunities for cultural exchange and other topics of mutual interest. Due to the high number of topics presented/summarised, a full break down could only be obtained at a disproportionate cost.

I refer the member to the answer to question S4W-14018 on 25 April 2013. All answers to written Parliamentary Questions are available on the Parliament’s website, the search facility for which can be found at:

http://www.scottish.parliament.uk/parliamentarybusiness/28877.aspx.

I refer the member to the answer to questions S4W-14016, S4W-14017 and S4W-14018 on 25 April 2013. All answers to written Parliamentary Questions are available on the Parliament’s website, the search facility for which can be found at:

http://www.scottish.parliament.uk/parliamentarybusiness/28877.aspx.

Officials from respective policy areas are responsible for keeping a record of engagement between Scottish Government officials and officials from other countries in accordance with the values set out in the Civil Service Code.