Scotland-Malawi Relationship

Part of Parliamentary Candidates: Barriers for Women – in Westminster Hall at 5:09 pm on 13 September 2017.

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Photo of Liz McInnes Liz McInnes Shadow Minister (Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs) 5:09, 13 September 2017

It is a pleasure to serve under your chairmanship, Mr Chope. It is also a pleasure to follow Chris Law, who has summed up the issues succinctly. It is my pleasure also to speak for the Opposition in this debate. I thank David Linden for securing this important debate.

The relationship between Scotland and Malawi, as most contributors have said, is rooted deep in history, going back more than 150 years to the work of Dr David Livingstone. In addition to the historical nature of the relationship, the Scottish Government justified their decision to focus effort on Malawi on the basis of developmental need. Malawi is one of the world’s poorest countries and ranked 170th out of 176 countries in the human development index, which includes such factors as income, education and health achievements.

Today it was my pleasure to speak to Lord Jack McConnell of Glenscorrodale, who, as the then First Minster of Scotland, signed off the Scottish international development programme. He emphasised to me the cross-party nature of the agreement. That has been reflected in today’s debate and in the excellent contributions made by all the speakers. I particularly note the comments of Colin Clark, who talked about the various exchange projects in his community, including help with schools in Malawi and also giving aid to famine victims.

Mr Carmichael talked about the opportunities for Scottish schoolchildren to see the lives of children in Malawi, which we would all agree is an education in itself and an opportunity that not all schoolchildren get. He also talked about the Malawi Music Fund. Many speakers touched on the issues of obtaining visas for Malawian visitors who wish to participate in exchange visits to this country. I am interested to hear what the Minister says about visas.