Scotland is sending a trade and defence mission to the Indo Pacific, because when international doors need opening there is no more persuasive diplomatic instrument than a suitcase full of whisky, seafood brochures and determined optimism.
Scottish Secretary Douglas Alexander is due to visit Australia, New Zealand and Singapore for meetings with ministers and business leaders. The programme covers trade, investment and security, giving the airport lounge a brief masterclass in turning a business trip into a strategic partnership before anyone has found the charging point.
The government announcement lists whisky, seafood, financial services and renewable energy technology among the Scottish products and expertise being promoted. Somewhere nearby, a business card is preparing to carry the full weight of national economic policy.
Lawnland’s Morag Gate, a fictional veteran of international departures, welcomed the journey. “We have brought the products, the expertise and enough tartan luggage tags to establish a small cultural outpost near Gate 32,” she said. The statement has not been issued by the Scottish Government or any other institution with a press office, which makes it unusually honest about its luggage.
The visit will also include performances by the Royal Edinburgh Military Tattoo in Auckland and Brisbane. This gives the trade mission a drum section, allowing negotiations to progress from market access to coordinated percussion whenever somebody mentions tariffs.
Australia and New Zealand are close United Kingdom defence allies, and the programme includes discussions about security cooperation, naval shipbuilding and advanced defence manufacturing. Singapore joins the itinerary as a trading partner, ensuring that the delegation can discuss both strategic uncertainty and the more familiar uncertainty of whether the snacks on the flight count as an export opportunity.
Officials say stronger links can attract investment and create well paid jobs at home. The mission will therefore open doors, deepen partnerships and demonstrate that the distance between a serious economic strategy and a souvenir bottle is mostly a matter of who has the better briefing note.
By the end of the week, Scotland hopes to have sold its products, strengthened its relationships and made the world safer through the traditional combination of whisky, renewable energy and men carrying drums. If no new door opens, the delegation can at least leave one ajar by asking whether anyone has tried the export sample. That is not diplomacy failing. It is diplomacy discovering a corkscrew.
Source: Scotland Office.
