Scotland’s First Minister and the former Prime Minister of Ireland have helped celebrate the next stage of the leadership of the international relations think tank, the Scottish Council on Global Affairs (SCGA).
First Minister John Swinney MSP and former Taoiseach Leo Varadkar joined St Andrews Principal Professor Dame Sally Mapstone, the University of Glasgow's Professor Sir Anton Muscatelli and the University of Edinburgh Professor Kim Graham , at an event held to mark the transition of SCGA from the University of Glasgow to St Andrews for the next two years.
Welcoming students, staff and invited guests to the event at the University of St Andrews, Professor Mapstone said: “As a globally oriented, socially responsible institution which majors on International Relations, the University of St Andrews sees our role on the Scottish Council on Global Affairs as a central part of our strategic and academic mission. All of us need today more than ever a richly strategic, and humane approach to global relations and foreign policy.”
In her introduction, Professor Mapstone also thanked colleagues from SCGA partner institutions attending the event including University of Glasgow Principal Professor Sir Anton Muscatelli, and University of Edinburgh Provost, Professor Kim Graham, as well as Irish Consul General of Ireland to Scotland, Jerry O’Donovan.
In his speech, the First Minister talked about the important role Scotland and the SCGA can play in meeting current and future challenges to global security.
He said: “As First Minister I want to ensure we are always able to draw on the council’s wealth of insight and expertise when it comes to considering international affairs. And we are engaging directly internationally as well as through that expertise here at home. That engagement enables is us to attract international investment, boost export growth of Scottish firms, and attract the talent that drives our nation’s productivity and innovation.
“In Scotland, we are fortunate that we enjoy a strong and distinctive international profile, but there is immense value in knowledge exchange and learning from the good work of other countries to improve policy and public services here at home.”
The First Minister went on to say, “there is no independent country closer to Scotland either geographically or culturally than Ireland” adding, “If you will permit a moment of envy. We have seen the central role Ireland has played in European institutions and the way it has enhanced its sovereignty, influence and indeed its wealth through those institutions.
The First Minister also reflected on the “shared commitment” of Scotland and Ireland to international development and “the recognition of the basic injustice at the very heart of climate change”, stating: “Both our governments have been at the forefront of funding innovative research that will help shape the global conversation on loss and damage.”
Mr Swinney then went on to introduce the keynote speaker for the evening, Leo Varadkar, who served as Taoiseach – or Prime Minister – of Ireland from 2017-2020 and again from 2022-24.
As Taoiseach, Mr Varadkar helped lead Ireland through the Pandemic with one of the internationally recognised best public health and economic responses. He also led Ireland through Brexit preventing a hard border between North and South, maintaining Ireland’s place at the heart of the European Union, its single market and upholding the Good Friday Agreement.
The Governments he participated in lifted Ireland’s ban on abortion and improved LGBT+ rights including the introduction of marriage equality and a gender recognition law. He also prioritised equality between men and women including gender pay gap reporting, more affordable childcare, greater diversity on state and corporate boards and women’s health.
Mr Varadkar, who stepped down following the most recent General Election, said he was delighted that he could come to St Andrews on his first visit to Scotland.
His talk focused on how nations like Scotland and Ireland can provide a hub for debate and discussion on international affairs, and the importance of SCGA – Scotland’s only International Relations think tank – in meeting current global challenges, particularly European security and stability.
Commenting on the SCGA and the role of smaller states like Ireland and Scotland in international affairs, Mr Varadkar said: “The fact that three institutions – the universities of St Andrews, Glasgow and Edinburgh – came together to found the Council is very good practice and not something I have seen in any other jurisdictions.”
He noted the work SCGA has done on Russia, Ukraine and the Just Transition, saying it had been, “impressive”.
He went on to say; “As the Prime Minister of Ireland, I often reflected that while everyone in Ireland knew our country was an island, too many thought it was also its own planet with all problems home-grown and easily solved with home-grown actions and solutions. This is not so. As smaller countries, we are deeply affected by global developments. All the major crises and situations I was involved with – the global financial crisis and banking collapse, Brexit, the pandemic, climate change, migration and inflation – all originated outside of Ireland….Our problems are local and global And the solutions, therefore, must be local and global too.”
During the lively Question and Answer session that followed both the First Minister and Mr Varadkar spoke about current challenges and their belief that closer co-operation and consensus is “desperately necessary” both domestically and internationally.
A recording of the event is available here
