SCOTLAND'S trade minister is aiming to bolster economic ties with the US and Canada following the Scottish Government’s independence prospectus paper release.
Ivan McKee will meet with a number of businesses across the Atlantic as he promotes Scotland as an attractive investment destination.
It follows the paper which sets out the Government’s plans to create a more prosperous, productive and internationally competitive economy.
McKee said the US is both Scotland’s top inward investor and top international export destination with exports valued at more than £6 billion.
He added: “Scotland is an extremely attractive country to invest in, we continue to strongly outperform the UK as a whole in attracting foreign direct investment (FDI) and have been the most successful nation or region in the UK, outside of London, for nine of the last 11 years and for the seventh year running, in attracting FDI.
“This is despite the numerous challenges of the last few years including, the UK Government’s ever-changing budget plans, Brexit and the pandemic, which is testament to our skills base and highly qualified workforce.”
The third independence paper in the Building a New Scotland Series outlined the economic and currency plans for an independent Scotland.
It confirmed Scotland would keep sterling for an undefined period of time after leaving the UK while work goes on to set up a new Scottish pound. Scotland would not seek to join the euro, Nicola Sturgeon said, adding that this would not be “right” for Scotland.
The paper also set out at length the economic case for independence in opposition to the policies of the Conservatives in Westminster and the First Minister emphatically said she “rejects” austerity, calling it immoral and unsound economically.
