 Felly yn cyfnodd gyntaf. Felly én i sut i gwineillio cyfnodd cenedlaethol o'i ddegonwedd y fawr o'i ddeithasol i ff Davies. Mae'r ddeithasol i ddigonwedd maeddiad o'r ddegonwedd maeridau, ac ond rwy'n cyfriddio o'i ddegonwedd sy'n iawn i ddegonwedd maeddiadau i ddigonwedd mewn ddigonwedd a'r ddaf. Gallwn i ddegonwedd i ddegonwedd a ddegonwedd maeddiadau i ddegonwedd mewn ddigonwedd maeridau i gael. Rydwg'r gweithio'r FFATI, ddigonwch gyda Llywodraeth, ac yn ymweld i'r newydd that I heard ar y prot 걸�urau a phobl yng Nghymru mewn Lline Public Development International. Mae hynny'n iawn i'r Gweithin, onz, a DOD, yn Chwchewe. Mae hynny'n iawn i'n iawn i'r Fel hyn y bywpeth drosafyddiadod Panosfyniadau y blhedwn i gyda Llywodraeth neu Fyrddau Icribedad runs a sut ailyniaeth sydd nesaf i gyda Ibrae A revealedio'r wir yi ym Felly, rwy'n cymaint o gael and other shared global challenges. I'm also mindful that next week, for example, this Parliament will host an event forming part of Tier Fund Scotland's 50th anniversary celebrations, because such events not only remind us of the history and richness of civil society's contribution to international development, but they also emphasise the strong cross-party support that exists in Scotland for international development, which is also active across the cross-party groups here in the Scottish Parliament. I'm also delighted to welcome the wider support that this inaugural report has received, and in particular the recognition that it reaffirms our strong commitment to the UN global goals. Indeed, our commitment and approach to international development programmes in our partner countries and to the beyond-aid agenda aligns with the fundamental premise of the global goals, which is that Governments cannot achieve them alone, but rather must work collectively. It is that concept of collaboration that underpins the report, and indeed it is our commitment to collaboration that underpins the Scottish Government's international development work. With civil society, our universities, public bodies and other nations are key to all our international development work. It is our collaborative efforts across Government, Scotland and our partner countries that this report really highlights and brings to life, demonstrating that when we come together for global good, together we can make positive change happen. The report itself highlights a multitude of projects and initiatives that our international development fund has supported in our partner countries to help to achieve the global goals in Malawi, Rwanda, Zambia and Pakistan. For example, and those are just some of many examples in Malawi towards Global Goal 1 of No Poverty, the report details that our Scottish Government international development support with partners has helped 2,860 farmers increase their wages by 227 per cent and 158 disabled Malawians increase their income by an average of 344 per cent through our Global Concerns Trusts livelihoods project. In Zambia, Global Goal 3 of quality education has been taken forward by our open university and Scotland funded project, Zambian education school-based training, which is helping to improve the quality of primary school teaching and learning in central province. In Rwanda, we are supporting water aid to improve health and sanitation in vulnerable communities and schools contributing to good health, gender equality, clean water and sanitation. In Pakistan, our scholarship schemes have enabled more young women from disadvantaged backgrounds to study at Pakistani universities and children from disadvantaged and minority backgrounds to attend primary and secondary schools. However, this report goes wider than our international development fund to take a holistic look across the Scottish Government international development activity during 2017-18. It also reports on work funded from our climate justice fund, our humanity and emergency fund and, importantly, the collaborative approach that we are increasingly developing across ministerial portfolios, a collaborative stepwise approach that is committed to policy coherence for sustainable development, committed to our aim to do no harm to developing countries, committed to the beyond aid agenda and to sharing Scotland's expertise for global good. For example, through our hydro-nation work, we are supporting and delivering peer-to-peer training and knowledge exchanges on drilling boreholes, water governance and resource management between our Scottish Government water division and the Malawi Government. This Governmental partnership supplements the water mapping initiative that has been highlighted in the report, which has seen approximately 30 per cent of Malawi's water and sanitation assets mapped through our climate justice fund, supported by Strathclyde University. In health, it has been hugely encouraging to see the joint development with the health portfolio of the Scottish Government to date to take forward our global health initiatives, an approach that was praised by Bill Gates in January when he visited Scotland. Lastly, in our wider public sector support, our funding supports Police Scotland to carry out specialist training with its peers in the Malawi and Zambian police forces on tackling gender-based violence and improving child protection and better protecting minority groups. My visit to Zambia and Malawi last month took place during UN Global Goals week. The theme of global goals week this year was the power of collaboration across Government, private sector, civil society, media and the UN. That collaborative and supportive approach is what I hope that this report and today's debate will evidence. I really look forward to hearing the contributions of fellow members from across the chamber about what we are doing in communities and in Government and how we can achieve more together. I already did, but I will move it again in the next minute. You did, but I must have been drifting. I should not have done that while you were speaking. I now call on Clare Baker to speak to move amendment 14425.2, tight six minutes, please, Ms Baker. Thank you, Presiding Officer. I appreciate the opportunity to discuss this important issue and welcome the minister to his new role. This is the first contribution to international development report from the Government and it is a welcome analysis of the work that has been undertaken across portfolios and in our partner countries. I want to thank Tier Fund, SCIAF, Christian Aid and the Scotland-Malawi partnership for their briefings in advance of our debate and for all the work that they do within the organisation and with civic society. It was in 2005 that the then First Minister, Jack McConnell, signed a co-operation agreement with the President of Malawi. I am proud that this strand of the Scottish Government's work has grown with cross-party support. The agreement, which was built on Scotland and Malawi's long history, ensured collaboration on education, health, sustainable economic development and civic governance. Initially, it was not whether it is critics, including from the then Opposition SNP party, who argued that concerns over corruption and governance should delay the partnership, even though that would have meant delaying support for people who needed it. It was a partnership that was supported by civic society and was one that Scotland went into with its eyes open. A key part of our work then and now must be about supporting better governance. The Scotland-Malawi partnership makes good points about the lack of genuine governance strengthening projects that are funded by the Scottish Government and whether there is more that can be done to proactively develop governance projects, bringing Government, Parliament and civic society together. I hope that the minister will reflect on that. Scotland's contribution to Malawi has been important and transformative, as the minister highlighted from his recent visit. Increased wages, an increase in production and an increase in the number of children enrolled in schools are a few of the advancements. I am therefore pleased that, 13 years on from its first signing, the First Minister has signed an updated joint agreement to ensure that both countries continue to work together. The original agreement was the first step towards setting up our international development fund, which supports developing countries, assists in times of international crisis and considers how our policies can positively affect the developing world. It is important that we continue to ensure that there is policy coherence for development as the minister expanded on, and that this report is a welcome step in that direction. I am pleased that the work of the Scottish Government continues to build on those successes and I recognise the increase in the fund to £10 million per year, the establishment of a welcome annual climate finance fund of £3 million per year and the introduction of a humanitarian fund of £1 million per year. Yet, despite Scotland and the UK's record, we can and must do more. One in 10 people live in extreme poverty, half of them in sub-Sahara Africa. Two billion people live in countries affected by fragility, conflict and violence. 80 per cent of illnesses in developing countries are linked to poor water and sanitation conditions. An estimated 131 million girls worldwide remain out of school, and more than 21 million people are forcibly displaced by weather-related hazards every year. The sustainable development goal sets ambitious targets for us to meet. However, during times of financial constraint for Governments, international development is often an easy target for those who wish to see aid cut, despite it being less than 1 per cent of our gross national income. Against those calls, we must be clear that we will not waver in our determination to help others. It should be a source of pride that, in both percentage and in cash terms, we are one of the most generous countries when it comes to helping others, and we must continue to meet the 0.7 target that is set under the millennium development goals. I support the Scottish Government's recent contribution to the humanitarian tragedy in Indonesia. Of course, the UK Government will make a significant contribution on behalf of all of us, but we can demonstrate our empathy without distracting from our core business. We must also ensure that we are not complacent when it comes to safeguarding. As a major funder for many charities within the sector, it is right that the Government ensures that there are robust safeguarding policies in place to protect vulnerable groups and that any such instances that we are aware of are fully and promptly investigated. We cannot just assume, as we had in the past, that those agencies are above reproach because of the work that they do. I welcome Oxfam's 10-point plan that they have published this week, and although I appreciate that much of what happened took place under umbrella organisations and away from Scottish offices, I still hope that other charities continue to review their practices. The world is facing some of the most complex interwoven security and development challenges of our time, on-going wars and presidented numbers of refugees, global terrorism, climate change and food insecurity. Our economic development was able to benefit from a model that is now hurting developing countries in Africa, Asia and South America. In June, in the Parliament, I hosted an event for faith leaders in Scotland, which is coming together to call for strong action on climate justice, a recognition that the consequences of all our advantages and use of resources is negatively affecting the poorest countries in the world. That is why, in our amendment today, we highlight the calls for the Government to commit to zero greenhouse gas emissions by 2050. We have a strong moral obligation to take action now, to set strong targets that resonate across the world and to show that a different path is possible. Progress does not come by standing still. Since the 2009 climate change act, many of the technologies that could help us to reach our goal were only in their infancy or had yet to be developed. The opportunity and imperative to be more ambitious than before is now here. We should take it. We must affirm our belief that tackling climate change is one of the biggest challenges that we face around the globe. Scotland must continue to be a beacon for change in the interests of everyone, and I move the amendment in my name. Thank you very much. I call Alexander Stewart to open the Conservatives. Five minutes please, Mr Stewart. Thank you, Deputy Presiding Officer. I am delighted to be able to take part in today's debate and lead for the Conservative Party. I welcome the minister to his role. Many organisations across the country are doing so much with reference to international development. We have seen significant advances in human development since 1990. The average lifespan is now seven years longer than it was at that stage, and 130 countries now have universal enrolment in primary education. However, there remains significant disparity between the most and the least deprived and developed countries, and many of those world populations continue to face significant levels of poverty and deprivation. We in the Scottish Conservatives believe that it is incredibly important that both Scotland and the UK Government, as a whole, play their part in supporting those individuals throughout their collaboration on international development. When it comes to international development, the Scottish Government seems particularly to excel at collaboration across business, research and, importantly, across civic society. Using that approach to tie with the existing projects, initiatives allow the £10 million budget that it has to go a lot further than it would do. There is no better example of that than the work that goes across the country in building with the long-standing relationship with Malawi. As a co-convener of the cross-party group on Malawi, I have seen first hand the exceptional work that has taken place. Like the minister, I attended the AGM in Glasgow recently, which was an inspiring event, with many individuals showing of their talent and time as to what they commit to. There are more than 1,000 links between Scotland and Malawi throughout civic society, and they contribute towards that effect in so many ways. The Scottish Malawi partnership estimates that every £1 spent by the Scottish Government Malawi development programme ensures that £10 is contributed by the wider civil society. That is an outstanding achievement, and we should be very proud of that. That report sets out some of the great achievements in Malawi and for other partner countries that have contributed towards the United Nations global goals. In Malawi alone, the achievements include significant improvement on wages for many, more children enrolled in targeted schools, more girls able to access schools and a fall in the mortality rate. Those are all welcome factors. In fact, the approach of ensuring and leveraging money to support international development effects from sources other than government is one that we should see widely and more widely applied. As I have said before in the chamber, although we must continue to provide humanitarian assistance when it is required, we should wherever possible look to shift from the direct funding to ensure that self-sufficient and business enterprise model is taken up. I would therefore like to take this opportunity to welcome the announcement that was made by the Scottish Government on the United Nations development programme. We will be collaborating on a two-year programme to leverage private capital to help to achieve the UN sustainable development goals. That is exactly the approach that we should take. However, there is an area that I would like to see the Government do more on. It has already been touched on today, which is the governance arrangements. Governance was the first stand of the original Malawi co-operation arrangement and it still is a key priority looking forward in the partnership today. The Scottish Malawi partnership has raised concerns about the lack of governance related projects that the Scottish Government has funded in the last decades. I share some of those concerns. We need to have a strong governance arrangement in place to ensure that the projects and initiatives that support our partnership countries are successful. We would welcome more work on that area to bring forward governance projects that give the opportunity to open and respectful about the governance arrangements that do take place. Although the report encourages what we have achieved, we must not forget that there are two Governments actively involved in the whole process of international development. The UK Government has long been committed to international development and, since 2007, has legally bound to spend 0.7 per cent of the gross national income on international aid. We should be very much aware of that. In 2015, we were one of only six countries that were falling into 0.7. That is something that should be, as I said, we were proud of. In conclusion, we and the Scottish Conservatives are committed to ensuring that Scotland and the UK continue to be good global citizens. We are therefore wholeheartedly supporting the Scottish Government's international development initiatives in Malawi, in Zambia, in Rwanda and in Pakistan, as well as the wider effects of the UK Government. We can and we do work together on so many areas, and those areas have made huge differences to the individuals, the organisations and the people of those nations, so I look forward to seeing what can be achieved as we progress from the situation, and I look forward to seeing successes in the future. Thank you very much, and I call on Ross Greer for the Green Party. Thank you, Presiding Officer, like colleagues, and I would like to welcome the minister to his post. Scotland's international development programme is a brilliant example of pushing the boundaries of devolution, living up to our global responsibilities and doing some genuine good in the world. We have both the responsibility to and the privilege of being able to act. The Greens welcome the principle of policy coherence being included in today's motion from the minister. It is not the sexist terminology in politics, but it is essential to our work here having real meaning. International development cannot be isolated to a silo. Decisions taken across the portfolios of this Parliament, Westminster, Brussels and even our council chambers have impacts across the planet. My amendment, though unselected, drew two examples of that, and Clair Baker's amendment, which the Greens will support, makes the same case. The IPCC said this month that we are on course for 3 to 4 degrees of global warming. That is civilisation ending stuff. A crisis already devastating the most vulnerable people on this planet, one that where many will-lying areas, island nations, densely populated river deltas, face wipe-out. Tens of millions, probably more, will lose their homes and livelihoods. Many will lose their lives, many indeed already have. The Government's development strategy includes a very welcome climate justice fund, one that has been gradually added to and increased over the years. These funds are vital for climate crisis mitigation work in the most vulnerable communities, for people who could not have done less to cause this crisis. This year, BP invested more than £420 million in two new North Sea oil sites. Since 2011, they have invested £2 billion in redeveloping the Shehalian field, unlocking 450 million barrels of oil. We are spending a fraction of the billions being thrown into extracting even more oil and gas on mitigation efforts for the impacts of the climate crisis. Stuart Sears has considered that, of course, oil and gas from our oil fields goes to transport in particular, and we should certainly work at getting it out of that. However, it also is an irreplaceable feedstock for many of our industries. I would have to ask you to make it short intervention. Mr Gray is going to have to absorb that. I appreciate the member's point, but if we are to have any hope of stopping the climate crisis, we need to leave more than 80 per cent of known reserves unburned. At our current rate of burning versus use of those reserves for other purposes, we are burning far more than 80 per cent, and of course the gas can only be used for burning. The SNP's energy spokesperson Alan Brown MP was praising a new report today, indicating that 15 billion barrels of oil could be extracted from the North Sea between now and 2050. The Scottish Government has repeatedly welcomed new oil and gas discoveries, and it has lobbied the UK Government for more support for that industry. Those are not the actions of a party in a Government serious about climate justice. That is not policy coherence. Neither is the Scottish Government's continued funding of companies that are involved in the arms trade, at the same time as supporting peace building and reconciliation efforts through another department—excellent efforts—that we would all commend. However, more than £18.5 million has been given to arms companies over the last decade. Recipients include Raytheon, the world's largest-guided mistile producer. Our equipment has been used by a Saudi Air Force guilty of war crimes against children in Yemen. Selex Leonardo, who saw communications hardware to the Assad regime in Syria in the month that sanctions were imposed, has also received handouts. As did Kemring, who has been used against protesters in the Arab Spring in Egypt to pro-democracy protests in Hong Kong. Not a single human rights assessment has been carried out on any companies prior to funding. It is difficult to reconcile the support for arms companies with our commitment to human rights for which I know that the minister is a powerful advocate. I appreciate that the Scottish Government has introduced new guidance to suggest that human rights checks should be carried out before granting funding, but the status of that guidance remains unclear and improvements need to be made. Clearly, there is much more work to be done to ensure that policy coherence is achieved. I am sure that the Government would rather avoid accusations of hypocrisy or incoherence. I know that the minister is committed to making this Government's international development work a trailblazer across the world. I hope that the Government can turn its words into actions and, with coherence and commitment, to demonstrate Scotland's commitment to just international development. I am sorry to chase people, but it is a short debate with a very short time for speaking. Liam McArthur, four minutes please, Mr McArthur. I also start by formally welcoming the minister to his post and from my work together on the Justice Committee. I am confident that he will be enabled in conscientious minister and wish him well in that role. As co-convener, like Alexander Stewart, of the Malawi CPG, I was delighted that one of Ben Macpherson's first engagements after his appointment was to visit the warm heart of Africa. I have been fortunate over the last decade or so to make a number of visits to Malawi. I never cease to be amazed by the extent of the links between our two countries and inspired by the benefits that those links from the grassroots up are delivering for communities both here and in Malawi. I appreciate that this contribution to international development report, which I very much welcome covers a very wide range of issues, but I hope that the chamber will understand if I focus my brief remarks this afternoon on the issue of Malawi, although in passing I should indicate my support for the amendment from Claire Baker. As I say, the historic friendship between Scotland and Malawi has, over recent years, given rise to a very distinctive and successful approach to international development being taken by successive Scottish Governments, dating back to the work of Jack McConnell and the signing of the First Co-operation Agreement in 2005. The Government to Government and Parliament to Assembly links work in synergy with a wider collective effort across schools, churches, universities, hospitals, community groups, businesses and all sections of civil society. There is not a part of Scotland that does not have a story to tell about the links it shares with communities and counterparts in Malawi. I believe that the Scottish Government's efforts have a disproportionate impact and enjoy such popular support precisely because of their connections and the interplay with the wider civic efforts. In areas such as health, education, particularly for girls and women, sustainable development, projects are delivering tangible and, hopefully, long-lasting benefits to the people of Malawi. There is more, of course, that can and needs to be done, not least in relation to governance, as Alexander Stewart rightly mentioned, but we should be proud of what has already been achieved in a model of engagement and partnership that is increasingly seen as an exemplar for other countries and by the United Nations. In that context, it is perhaps appropriate to flag up some misgivings about the decrease in the scale of the Malawi development programme announced recently by the Scottish Government. For the reasons that I have already outlined, the case is compelling for ensuring that Malawi remains the prevailing focus for Scotland's international development and engagement strategy. It is a matter of fact that the Scottish Government does not have the wherewithal to replicate the scale of what the UK Government does through DFID. With 1,000 times less financial resources at our disposal, Scotland needs to target that resource in ways that can make the biggest difference. Concentrating on initiatives that build on the unique and proven Scottish model that sees Government, Parliament and civil society coming together in a focused and impactful way in one country-to-country and people-to-people partnership makes sense. That chimes with the new global partnership, which the UN's sustainable development goals look to deliver. It is a reason not to set ourselves up as a mini DFID with the risk that we spread our efforts too thinly and thereby ineffectively. On a more positive note—maybe if you can pick up in your— No, the member is coming to conclusion. On a more positive note, however, let me conclude by paying tribute to the far-sighted investment by successive Scottish Governments in networks such as the Scotland-Malawi partnership and its system Malawi-Scotland partnership. Each pound invested in the SNP helps to lever over £160 of inputs from wider civil society. That is a remarkable return and the sort of area where Scottish ministers with relatively modest input are able to leverage wider investment and deliver lasting change. Our relationship with Malawi encapsulates the very positive contribution that Scotland has and continues to make to international development. I look forward to supporting those efforts into the future, as you call more. Come, Barry. Thank you very much, Ms McArthur. My member is now speaking. It is four-minute speeches, Annabelle Ewing, followed by Jeremy Balfour. Presiding Officer, I am pleased to have been called to speak in this afternoon's debate on the newly instituted report on Scotland's contribution to international development. That report has been widely welcomed. I believe that it represents an important step in our continuing work to ensure that Scotland discharges its role as a good global citizen. At the outset, I would also like to take this opportunity of publicly welcoming the minister to his new post. I know that he will do a fantastic job, at the same time that I would pay tribute to the work of his immediate predecessor, Alasdair Allan, who was assiduous in his work to tackle poverty and inequality across the globe. Presiding Officer, it is clear from this report that much progress continues to be made in terms of Scotland's contribution to the international development field. In addition to the significant funding that is available from the Scottish Government and the high standards of transparency in place, what is extremely heartening is that the report recognises the importance of working across Government portfolios so that we can see the full weight of Government brought to bear on seeking to improve, for example, the health and education of some of the world's poorest citizens and on helping them to meet the significant challenges of climate change. In my view, what is the most significant of all is the importance that the Scottish Government places in its international development work on real-two-way partnership working with civic society both here and in the third countries involved. That approach marks out the distinctive way that Scotland makes its contribution to international development and has been widely commended by our peers. We need to look simply to the enormously important work that members have talked about that is taking place in Malawi to see how that distinctive approach is delivering on the ground. Indeed, the Scotland Malawi partnership has pointed out that this key approach of real joint working, nation to nation, citizen to citizen acts as what the term a civic multiplier we have heard, that for every £1 spent on the Scottish Government Malawi development programme, over £10 of inputs comes from wider civil society. That innovative approach has seen some 109,000 Scots actively involved in some way with a link in Malawi and, indeed, some 208,000 Malawians involved. What a fantastic hand of friendship that we all benefit from, and that can be seen in every constituency in Scotland. In my constituency of Couton Beath, I would like to mention the tremendous work that has been done by Duggetty Bay Parish Church, which has been twinned with the congregation of, and I probably won't pronounce this properly, Encongle-Wenny Church in rural northern Malawi since 2007. At the same time, the Duggetty Bay friends of Encongle-Wenny were set up some years ago and, as a result of the work of all involved, under the secretarieship of Robin Arnott, together with the church, there have been some amazing achievements. The work done and money raised has, among other things, secured clean water for the village, funded and stocked a pig farm, paid for the secondary school fees for eight pupils, expected to rise to 80 pupils over the next years, and with the proceeds from the pig farm, maize for orphans and widows has been purchased so that they will have food to eat when supplies are otherwise scarce. Elsewhere in my constituency, Beath High School, a partner with Mendoolo School in the Lichenza region, is just back from a visit to Malawi, and other schools, including Duggetty Bay Primary School, Donnie Byssel Primary School and Lochgelly High School, all have active two-way school-to-school links with schools in Malawi. Those links on the part of our citizens, with the citizens of Malawi, are not just transforming lives in Malawi, but are inspiring generations of young Scots to be good global citizens. I am very proud of the fantastic work that is going on in my constituency, and I am also very proud of the groundbreaking role that my country is playing in the field of international development, ensuring indeed that we live up to Burn's vision that man-to-man the world or shall brothers be for all that. I thank the Government for bringing forward the debate and for welcoming the report that we are talking about. As my colleague Alexander Stewart pointed out, one of the things that the Scottish Government has got right in relation to that is looking to partner with organisations both here and in Scotland, but perhaps more importantly in other countries, because for that we get much more for our value. I am pleased that Ross Greer is sponsoring the tier fund event and the minister is coming to speak at it next Tuesday and to be able to celebrate the 50 years that tier fund has been working across the United Kingdom and in other parts of the world. In the short time that I have, I would like to mention two projects that I had the pleasure of visiting, which are sponsored by the Scottish Government over the summer. I had the advantage to go with tier fund to the Wanda, and to be honest, I was not sure what to expect it was my first trip to Africa, but what I saw impressed me and inspired me, but perhaps what I did not expect challenged me to bring back some of the ideas that are happening in that country that we can learn from here in Scotland as we look to help people in our own country. On the second day that we were there, we were taken into one of the more deserted parts of the country, taken for about a mile's walk along this path to suddenly see this large Scottish flag standing there. The reason is that the Scottish Government over a number of years has put money into water projects in the Wanda. There was a lovely Scottish flag and a winding flag, and perhaps more importantly, a tap that served five different villages that gave them water that we did not have previously. That project was not delivered by the Scottish Government, but by the Scottish Government money that was delivered by a local partner. I think that that plays credit to what the Scottish Government has done. The second project, or several projects that we visited, was in regard to self-help groups. The Scottish Government has been funding two particular groups in regard to farming and environmental issues in the Wanda. Again, what challenged me was that there were twenty individuals in a village that had real poverty. They had got together those twenty individuals, mostly women, into a self-help group where each month they put aside a small amount of money that was building up over a number of months, which, in due course, those individuals could borrow from to buy things to help them grow things for their village and for their local community. Every individual in that self-help group had been able to pay back the money that they borrowed and would grow in the work that they were doing. Again, money that was given by the Scottish Government but was delivered locally by local partnerships, which, to me, is deeply effective. That is a way forward, but we also have to make sure that we learn lessons from them and from those countries, as well as us giving them money and perhaps helping them. Thank you very much, Presiding Officer. Thank you very much. Colin Smyth, followed by Bill Kidd, is the last speaker, Mr Kidd, in the open debate. Thank you, Presiding Officer. I want to focus my comments in the very brief time that we have on the importance of fair trade and the crucial role of civic society in Scotland in the promotion of international development. Presiding Officer, as we edge closer to the Brexit cliff with the prospect of our trade roles being rewritten and new trade deals being negotiated, it is no exaggeration to say that it will be maker break for millions of farmers and workers in the world's poorest countries who trade with us. The fair trade principles of better prices, decent working conditions, local sustainability and fair terms of trade for workers have never been more important. Fair trade challenges the injustices of conventional trade, injustices that too often discriminate against the poorest producers. That is why the campaigning work of the fair trade movement and others to deliver trade justice for millions of vulnerable farmers and workers in developing countries is as crucial today as it has ever been. I want to pay tribute to the volunteers and campaigners across Scotland to promote those fair trade principles week in, week out. Earlier, I mentioned my role as convener of the cross-party group. That is a group that has been at the forefront of supporting fair trade from welcoming producer visits to Parliament to last month hosting the launch of the new international global fair trade charter, along with the chief executive of the world fair trade organisation, the chief executive of the fair trade foundation and the cabinet secretary for external affairs. It ensured that Scotland was one of the global focal points for the international fair trade movement. As well as being convener of the cross-party group, I also have the privilege of being chairperson of my local regional fair trade steering group. It means that I see at first hand the commitment of local fair trade groups, local businesses, workplaces and the local council in Dumfries and Galloway to fair trade. I was proud last week to sign off our application for continued fair trade status for the region. I also had the pleasure of welcoming the Scottish Fair Trade Forum to Dumfries last month for its annual conference when campaigners from local groups across Scotland gathered to share ideas, to hear from others and to develop new plans and also to welcome kill and burrow rice farmers who are visiting Scotland from Malawi as part of a UK-wide tour supported by paisley-based just trade in Scotland. An age of uncertainty, cynicism and fake news, the conference and Scotland's international links are a real example of how a community-based grassroots approach strengthens the commitments to global connections and to development. It highlights the point that was made earlier by the minister that networks and civic society partnerships link into communities and partnerships globally essential to the success of Scotland's long-standing commitment to international development. The fair trade networks are supported by the work of the Scottish Fair Trade Forum, which supplies information, knowledge, training and resources to local fair trade groups and promotes fair trade businesses here in Scotland. From the launch of Campaign Coffee Scotland in 1979 to the first Scottish Fair Trade Towns Aberfeldy in Strathen in 2002, Scotland has always played a leading role in developing fair trade. There have been many milestones along the way from the opening of ballast sport in 2014, a Glasgow-based fair trade sportsball social enterprise, to the launch of the world fair trade tartan in 2017 through a partnership between village works Cambodia and Fair Trade Scotland Ltd. A tartan, I have to say, which I and the minister will agree, makes for a very excellent tie. The Scottish Fair Trade Forum has supported many of those milestones, and their work has led to a step change in fair trade activity in Scotland, resulting in fair trade nation status in 2013, reconfirmed last year. I commend the Scottish Fair Trade Forum for the work that it does and its vision to take fair trade to the next level in Scotland. I would strongly urge the Scottish Government to continue the welcome support that it gives to the forum. In concluding, we have rightly heard much in this debate about the important and necessary role of aid in development, but we cannot and should not underestimate the essential role trade also has on international development. That means that we must continue to put support and fair trade at the heart of the Government's contribution to international development. Welcome to Ben Macpherson's important new role. Scotland is a country with a rich network of NGOs, charities and academic centres focused on international development, and many of those groups work in collaboration with or are funded by the Scottish Government. The collective effort mirrors the United Nations 2015-2030 global goals agenda. The goals of which are embedded into a number of Scottish Government policy areas, such as tackling poverty, taking climate action and, of course, international development. I believe that Scotland can deliver ethical leadership through adopting international standards of best practice and by seeing policy coherence as a key aspect of the beyond aid agenda reverberate through our domestic and international development policy. We must embrace policy coherence for aid to work effectively. Coupled with that, we need to ensure that communities within aid recipient countries are treated as partners and collaborators. Policy coherence ensures that development work that is done abroad is not undermined by policies that are taking place at home. The UN global goals even outline the Government's integration and development policy coherence must be a precursor for those global goals to be achieved. I would like to highlight the Scottish Government's sustainable energy for all, or SE4ALL programme, as an example of where policy coherence works currently well here in Scotland. SE4ALL projects are aimed at reducing energy inequity and building climate resilience in Malawi through renewable technology and education initiatives. That echoes the Scottish Government's ambitious and far-reaching climate targets that are still developing but are far-reaching. The Scottish Government is committed to making Scotland sustainable while curbing our carbon emission impact on the world. Nearly one in five people around the world do not have access to modern energy services, and that consequent lack of energy resulted in an estimated 2 to 3 per cent loss of GDP in developing countries over the period of the millennium development goal agenda. In Malawi, only 9 per cent of the population have access to electricity, and that falls to only 1 per cent in rural areas. In 2014, Scotland had the honour of welcoming special representative and chief executive of UN sustainable energy for all initiative, Dr Candid Eumella, young killer bigopern, to Glasgow for the Commonwealth Conference on energy, equity and development. In that, he emphasised the energy inequity impacts on the running of hospitals and health services, on water availability, on food security and on schools. Tackling that is crucial. The funded SE4ALL projects target energy and equity by working directly with rural communities to plant renewable technologies with local businesses. That mirrors international standards. In 2011, when the UN initiated this programme under Ban Ki-moon, it explained how renewable technology is the golden thread connecting development, social inclusion and environmental protection. Empowering and working in partnership with the aid recipient communities has powered two schools and health clinics with renewable energy, and has resulted in 795 households purchasing those services and products in four rural villages in the Chikwawa district. All of that illustrates how Scotland has employed lessons of best practice from the development community beyond-age strategies, promoting policy coherence, community empowerment and partnership, and those are widely called for. Scotland in the Scottish Government adoption of beyond-age strategy amplifies our efforts to achieve global goals. As a small nation with a global reach, we can make it known that Scotland is an advanced, sustainable and ethical country through consistency and integrity. Colin Lewis Macdonald will close for Labour for four minutes, please. Thank you very much. I too welcome the new minister and this new report. Today's debate has confirmed that the contribution of the Scottish Government to international development continues to enjoy strong cross-party support, as it has done indeed since it was initiated by Jack McConnel back in 2005, when Patricia Ferguson was appointed as Scotland's first international development minister. It has also confirmed a larger truth that Scotland's contribution is not confined to Government alone. It involves and engages tens of thousands of people across civil society. Members today have focused mainly on the partner countries of Malawi, Zambia, Rwanda and Pakistan, while acknowledging that Scotland also makes a wider contribution directly and indirectly in many countries around the world. In that point, in particular, it is well made by Scotland's international development alliance, with whom I work closely as convener of the cross-party group on international development. The alliance has over 140 member organisations working in around 140 countries around the world. Its view is that reporting on Scotland's contribution to international development should not be confined to what the Government does at its own hand or to the four partner countries, but should cover all those organisations that are active in all those countries. The other point that is emphasised by those working in the development field is that this policy area is not for one minister or one department alone. It is important across the whole range of Government, as Ben Macpherson highlighted. In that context, the minister's presentation of the report in the context of the UN Global Goals is very welcome. Those goals reflect recognition that development in other countries is intrinsically linked with development at home, as a number of members have said today, and that the steps that we need to take to support the world's poorest countries are linked to the steps that we need to take to achieve sustainable and inclusive development here in Scotland. That is why our amendment, or the context in which our amendment today highlights the case for Scotland setting a target of zero net emissions by 2050, and that case, as ministers will know, has strong support among NGOs. It reflects the point that climate change has the greatest impact on those who are at least to cause it, and the need for countries like Scotland to take a larger share in the actions needed to mitigate that, a point in general that is stressed by Ross Greer, Liam McArthur and others. Claire Baker and Alexander Stewart mentioned the views of the Scotland-Malawi partnership in calling for more Scottish Government support for governance-related projects in Malawi. They say that it is regrettable that there have been few of those in the last decade, and that is something that needs to be addressed. I think that all of us in this Parliament know from our own experience that the best actions and, indeed, the best investments can be undermined if they do not have good governance to ensure that they are delivered. With the broadest, deepest and, in some ways, oldest of Scotland's international partnerships, I think that we should take heed of this call from the Scotland-Malawi partnership for our rebalancing of our effort going forward. Incorporating the Sustainable Development Goals in Scotland's own national performance framework will make it easier to achieve the policy coherence for international development to which the minister referred, and I think that that is a step in the right direction. However, we can never be complacent or rest on our laurels. The need for global action for development and justice is urgent and serious. Our efforts must be constantly reinvigorated by recognising and responding to new challenges and by finding new ways to add value to those efforts. On that basis, I am certain that there will continue to be support across this Parliament for Scotland's contribution to international development and for policies that can tackle poverty and inequality both here in Scotland and around the world. It has been a very short debate, symptomatic of the many short debates that we have had this week, so I will attempt to do it as justice as best I can. I think that it is fair to say that there has been admittedly a lot of progress made internationally over the past couple of decades. According to the World Bank, there has been a 36 per cent reduction in absolute poverty in the last 40 years. That is over a billion people who have been lifted out of absolute poverty. However, let us not kid ourselves or forget that the world's population has exploded in that time. Over 1.5 billion people still do not have access to basic energy needs and rely on things like wood and charcoal for heating and cooking, things that we take for granted here in Scotland. Whilst I suspect that the Scottish Government has no statutory requirement to dedicate either resource or funds to international aid, the fact that it does so is highly commendable. You see good practice and good will right across Scotland and across all walks of life, whether it is through the state-sponsored intervention, detailed in this report, or through large-scale organisations such as Enactus or WaterAid Scotland, through to very local groups. In my region, the Valdeti Trust, based on the Isle of Arran, is a group that helps people with degenerative diseases in Albania of all places. It is heartening that it is within the Scottish psyche to support our friends wherever they may be and whatever their needs are. The support focuses very much on the work that the Government is doing in Rwanda, Malawi, Zambia and Pakistan. Many of those schemes are long-standing relationships, some of which with historic importance. There are countless countries and projects that I guess the Government could invest in, so it has to make difficult decisions as to where it thinks Scottish intervention will have the most impact. Alexander Stewart mentioned some concerns over governance, but I could also add some thoughts over effectiveness and value of our strategy. Currently, Scotland's international development fund allocates 20 per cent of its budget towards capacity strengthening. That funds projects such as Police Scotland working in Zambia. It also includes projects that train Pakistani women in conflict, resolution and peacekeeping. However, the question is how does the Government ensure that every pound that is spent is spent effectively? If we look across the border, it has set up an independent commission for aid impact. The focus of that organisation is to evaluate how effective aid spending has been. The Department for International Development has a pledge at the moment to ensure that every pound that is spent on aid is at least £1 worth of impact. You could argue that the impact should be more than that invested, but it is a good start. I accept that analysis at that level is incredibly difficult. I appreciate, as I said, that difficult decisions have to be made on what will have the biggest effect on those who need it. I wish the minister well in regard, but I would ask that he give some thought as to how he will evaluate how his budget is being spent and how he will alter future spending decisions. In today's motion, the phrase uses cross-cutting themes on policy coherence for development. It is a little bit jargon-filled, I admit, but I do hope that that means that the Scottish Government accepts that aid cannot be given in a silo. It must have real impact on the communities that it delivers to. Projects such as the Global Concerns Trust is an excellent example of that. It provides disabled people education in Malawi. It has allowed them to increase their income. It has helped to create over 160 new businesses. To me, that sounds like targeted aid delivering real tangible results. Helping countries develop business, invest in capital and human infrastructure is the right kind of development projects that we should be encouraging. The revived African Lakes company, Malawi Mangos, Community Energy in Malawi are all great examples of projects with tangible benefits and tangible results. The notion of trade not aid is very common parlance in today's international aid circles. In fact, Nobel Prize winner Angus Deedon highlighted that development should not and never undermine local capacity. Our intervention should facilitate basics but also business. I would like to make a brief reference to Labour's amendment today. I think that it has noble intentions, but I think that it adds a new layer to today's debate, which we simply do not have enough time in 58 minutes to debate properly. I would like the Claire committee to do its work and to give it the time and space that it needs to report back to this place on the missions. I would also like the independent committee on climate change to do their work and inform both Governments. I would like to see what they advise before we take a view on that. I offer the minister support from the benches on the work that his department is doing, but I request that if we truly want to leave no one behind, as his document says, Scottish aid must be delivered effectively, productively, safely and that everyone involved in doing so does so in an accountable way. I now call on Ben Macpherson to close the Government Minister until decision time please. Thank you to all members who have participated in what I think has been an excellent debate before concluding remarks. I will try to address some of the points that have been made just for clarity. First of all, on the question of diminished focus on Malawi, that Liam McArthur and Claire Baker raised as well, we are absolutely committed to Malawi as a focused partner. In the £11.5 million that I announced for our new development assistance projects to 2018-23, that includes a significant commitment to Malawi, including—which covers off this point as well—£1.2 million for civil society and governance work. We are also funding capacity building gains through our small grants programme in order to develop on the governance question. We have given that focus and priority in previous applications for programme proposals, but we will continue to encourage more Scottish organisations to come forward and partner with us on that, as well as taking forward our initiatives. For clarity, £3 million per annum is designated from the IDF. Excuse me a minute, minister. Angus MacDonald cannot hear you. Neither can I, because of a very gentle voice for which I commend you, but the noise of other members is just saying their farewells to each other's interrupting use, so they just be quiet. Thank you. I will try to speak a bit louder. Just for clarity, £3 million per annum is designated from the IDF for Malawi. It receives the largest amount of funding through our international development fund, so let that be absolutely clear. The points raised by Ross Greer, just for clarity, the Scottish Government and its enterprise agencies do not provide funding for the manufacture of munitions. I want to make that absolutely clear. Our agency's support is focused on helping firms to diversify and to develop non-military applications for their technology. Today, we have heard so powerfully from most speakers about the partnership working and collaboration in the way that the Scottish Government and Scotland as a whole approaches international development and the important impact that can make. That is why, in opening this debate, I spoke of our commitment to policy coherence for sustainable development. The report provides a summary of the Scottish Government's key contributions to the UN global goals in our partner countries under international development, humanitarian emergency and climate justice funds. It also details how collaboration across the Scottish Government portfolios is increasingly delivering success beyond aid spend, including citizenship education partnerships on water with the Malawian Government, our global health network and, to address the point, our climate change bill will add to that. I am passionate about tackling climate change and really respect those in the NGO sector and colleagues and others who are pushing and want a strong climate bill. The Scottish Government is also passionate about delivering this and delivering a strong bill within the limits of feasibility. We have a question before us with the bill as that develops, but it is important to emphasise that tackling climate change in a purposeful, robust and achievable way will make the biggest impact and difference both here in Scotland and towards achieving the UN global goals. In all of the international development and humanitarian emergency work that we support, we aim to reflect our commitment to the partnership of achieving the global goals, the global goals 17, including the civil society networking organisations to which we support. That was emphasised by many speakers. I believe that our support for a wide range of international development organisations also helps us to hear myriad of views and voices, and that is important because it helps us to build a myriad of collaborations, not just to deliver development programmes but also in order to progress LGBTI equality and rights, push for greater female empowerment, better protect those in marginalised groups and enhance the influence of young people. On safeguarding, which was rightly raised, I have been heartened by the commitment shown across the sector in Scotland to work together to affect culture change and safeguarding improvement. We have worked closely with the Alliance and OSCR to support the sector, in particular in funding the Alliance to develop a safeguarding support package, the pilot of which was launched last month at the annual conference. On safeguarding our commitment to it, to protect vulnerable people, we will continue to form an integral part of our international development work in the years ahead. It will continue to form an integral part and we will continue to collaborate in doing so with DFID, OSCR, the Alliance and the wider international development sector. In conclusion, I have been delighted to present a contribution to international event report and that it has received such positive feedback. However, I am also clear that it will evolve over time in both format and content as we respond to our partners here in Scotland and in our partner countries. What will not change is our approach to international development itself, of focusing on areas where development investment is most needed and where it can be effective and deliver impact, of acting as a good global citizen, contributing internationally by reference to the interests of our partner countries and not our own interests. That is an approach that is in tune with our values, values of compassion, solidarity and internationalism. In this time of uncertainty and flux and challenge, those values are increasingly important. We should be proud of the collective achievement that our distinctive international development contribution has achieved, both last year and since 2005. We should be proud of the contribution that we have made together for both the benefit of Scotland as a good global citizen and the intrinsic benefit of working together in the interests of others and for global good. Thank you very much, and that concludes our debate on international development. We are going to turn straight to decision time. The first question is that amendment 1.4425.2, in the name of Claire Baker, which seeks to amend motion 1.4425, in the name of Ben Macpherson, on the Scottish Government's inaugural contribution to international development report, be agreed? Are we all agreed? We are not agreed. We will move to division. Members may cast their votes now. The result of the vote on amendment 1.4425.2, in the name of Claire Baker, is yes, 22, no, 80. There were no abstentions. The amendment is therefore not agreed. The final question is that motion 1.4425, in the name of Ben Macpherson, on the Scottish Government's inaugural contribution to international development report, be agreed? Are we all agreed? We are agreed, and that concludes decision time. I close this meeting.