10.07.2017
The Scottish Parliament’s Presiding Officer, Ken Macintosh MSP, is to lead a delegation to Munich on a trip to strengthen parliamentary ties and support economic, cultural and environmental links between Scotland and Bavaria.
The Presiding Officer and Committee Conveners Joan McAlpine, Gordon Lindhurst and Graeme Dey will meet their parliamentary counterparts, including President Barbara Stamm MdL, and civic colleagues from the powerful German länder. They will also meet Dr Beate Merk, Minister of State for European Affairs and Regional Relations from the Bavarian Government.
Speaking before his departure, Presiding Officer, Rt Hon Ken Macintosh MSP, said:
“It is always valuable to learn from and share best practice with other legislatures. But at this time of change, it’s more important than ever to extend the hand of friendship to our counterparts in Europe..
“I am looking forward to leading the Scottish Parliament’s first delegation to Bavaria. Although brief, this visit offers us a real opportunity to build on existing ties and strengthen our links with one of Scotland’s top five export destinations.”
Germany is consistently in Scotland’s top five export destinations, with exports worth more than £1.8 billion in 2015.
The delegation will arrive in Munich on 10 July 2017, returning to Scotland the following day. Joan McAlpine is Convener of the Culture, Tourism, Europe and External Relations Committee; Gordon Lindhurst is Convener of the Economy, Jobs and Fair Work Committee and Graeme Dey is Convener of the Environment, Climate Change and Land Reform Committee.
During the trip, the delegation will meet:
- The President of the Bavarian Parliament, Barbara Stamm and Corresponding Committee Chairs.
- The Minister of State for European Affairs and Regional Relations from the Bavarian Government, Dr Beate Merk.
- The Lord Mayor of Munich, Mr Dieter Reiter
- Various civic, economic, cultural and environmental bodies and organisations.
In October 2015 the Bavarian State Parliament President, Ms Barbara Stamm, Ms Ilse Aigner, Deputy Minister-President of Bavaria and Mr Thomas Kreuzer, Chairman of the CSU Parliamentary Party, and a delegation visited the Scottish Parliament.
Scotland has a number of links with Bavaria. Edinburgh is twinned with Munich, Glasgow is twinned with Nuremberg, and in March 2017, the Scottish and Bavarian Governments signed a joint economic declaration.
Photographs of the event will be available free of charge. Please check back in with the Media Relations Office on Wednesday 12 July.