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Diplomacy and relations

As leader of the Scottish Government, the first minister is a member of the Heads of Government Council, the body which facilitates intergovernmental relations between the Scottish Government, UK Government, Welsh Government, and Northern Ireland Executive. Foreign policy is a reserved matter and primarily the responsibility of the Foreign Office, a department of the UK Government. Nevertheless, the Scottish Government may promote Scottish interests abroad and encourage foreign investment in Scotland. The first minister and the constitution secretary have portfolios which include foreign affairs.

Scotland's international network consists of two Scotland Houses, one in Brussels and the other in London, seven Scottish Government international offices, and over thirty Scottish Development International offices in other countries globally. Both Scotland Houses are independent Scottish Government establishments, whilst the seven Scottish Government international offices are based in British embassies or British High Commission offices. The Scottish Government, along with the other devolved governments of the United Kingdom, pay the Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office an annual charge to be able to access facilities and support in the Embassy or High Commission in which the Scottish international offices are based. The Scottish Government's international network allows Scottish Government ministers to engage with other international governments and bodies in relation to the government's policy objectives as well as that of Scottish businesses. Additionally, the international network of the Scottish Government acts as a mechanism to promote and strengthen the Scottish economy by creating opportunities for Scottish businesses to increase export sales of Scottish products, whilst working with their current, and any future, foreign investors to establish and maintain Scottish jobs in the goods sector.

Scotland is a member of the British–Irish Council, the British–Irish Parliamentary Assembly, Inter-Parliamentary Forum, the Commonwealth Parliamentary Association and the Parliamentary Partnership Assembly with the European Union. The Scottish Government has a network of offices in Beijing, Berlin, Brussels, Copenhagen, Dublin, London, Ottawa, Paris, and Washington, D.C., which promote Scottish interests in their respective areas. The nation has historic ties to France as a result of the ' Auld Alliance ', a treaty signed between the Kingdom of Scotland and Kingdom of France in 1295 to discourage an English invasion of either country. The alliance effectively ended in the sixteenth century, but the two countries continue to have a close relationship, with a Statement of Intent being signed in 2013 between the Scottish Government and the Government of France. In 2004 the Scotland Malawi Partnership was established, which co-ordinates Scottish activities to strengthen existing links with Malawi, and in 2021, the Scottish Government and Government of Ireland signed the Ireland-Scotland Bilateral Review, committing both governments to increased levels of co–operation on areas such as diplomacy, economy and business. Scotland also has historical and cultural ties with the Scandinavian countries. Scottish Government policy advocates for stronger political relations with the Nordic and Baltic countries, which has resulted in some Nordic-inspired policies being adopted such as baby boxes. Representatives from the Scottish Parliament attended the Nordic Council for the first time in 2022.