'Important Work' Of The British-Irish Council Highlighted

First Minister Alex Salmond has highlighted the important work of the British-Irish Council (BIC) in priority areas such as economic growth, jobs and energy, during a visit today to the institution’s newly-opened Standing Secretariat in Edinburgh.

Mr Salmond attended a reception at Thistle House to welcome the establishment of the Standing Secretariat in the Scottish capital - marking a significant milestone in the implementation of the Belfast and St Andrews agreements.

The First Minister said: "The British-Irish Council facilitates regular, constructive co-operation between the member administrations and I’m delighted the Standing Secretariat for the British-Irish Council has been established in Scotland. I welcome the opportunity to meet the joint heads and other staff working to support the work of this important inter-governmental institution.

"The Council serves as a model of how different governments with common interests can work together in a constructive manner in priority areas such as the economy, jobs and energy. Last summer, for example, the Council agreed an ‘all islands approach’ across the UK and Ireland for cost-effective exploitation of the available renewable energy resources, increasing integration of their markets and improving security of supply.

"The huge potential benefits of such an approach have since been highlighted with the EU-funded Irish-Scottish Links on Energy Study (ISLES) into an interconnected network under the Irish Sea. And at the last BIC summit, in Dublin, member administrations had an extended discussion on youth employment, and agreed to the new Secretariat being tasked to review progress of various initiatives across the BIC region, ahead of the next summit, being held in Scotland in June."

The Secretariat is jointly headed by UK and Irish Government officials.

Jeremy Martin, the UK Joint Head said: "The Secretariat aims to support and add impetus to the work of the British-Irish Council and looks forward to working closely with the eight different Council Member Administrations over the coming years. Our first priority will be the development of a business plan for publication in the coming months."

Ciarán Byrne, the Irish Joint Head added: "We would like to warmly thank the Scottish Government for hosting the Secretariat and for the support they have provided to us in the set-up phase."

(GK)