Scottish First Minister calls for stronger links between Scotland and Ireland

Scotland's First Minister Nicola Sturgeon will visit Dublin (Irish: Baile Átha Cliath) on Monday. She is seeking to expand business, cultural and political links between Scotland and Ireland. During the trip to Dublin the First Minister will visit the Scottish Government's Investment and Innovation Hub which was established to build on collaborative work between Scottish and Irish companies. Nicola Sturgeon said: "Scottish exports to Ireland are worth £1.125 billion and Irish investment into Scotland currently supports more than 6,000 jobs".

In June of this year the President of Ireland Michael D Higgins (Irish: Mícheál D. Ó hUiginn) made a successful four day official visit to Scotland. During his visit he met with Scotland's First Minister and addressed members of the Scottish Parliament in Edinburgh. At that time the First Minister said that Ireland was an important friend to Scotland and she looked forward to strengthening links between the countries.

President Higgins described the historic and continuing important links between the countries and said the heritage, culture and language of the two nations were “deeply interwoven”, He pointed out that this allowed for a “profound connection and understanding” between the people of Ireland and Scotland. “Many Irish and Scottish people have created new homes and forged new lives across the globe. He went on to say: “Wherever they went they integrated into society and left their indelible marks on their new communities, especially through our unique, overlapping cultures of music and dance.”