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Statement by Clive Alderton, Private Secretary for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs about Their Royal Highnesses’ upcoming visits to Portugal, Spain and Morocco
14th March 2011
Her Majesty’s Government have asked Their Royal Highnesses to visit Portugal, Spain and Morocco. The visits were planned some months ago.
You will notice a strong theme of “Commercial Diplomacy” running through our programmes. As ever, it’s an important priority for Royal Visits to support the fast and strong recovery of Britain’s economy, and so protect the jobs and livelihoods of as many of our citizens as possible. Don’t be surprised when you see quite a few engagements linked to this vitally important theme. Other themes for the visit are climate change, military co-operation, faith and minority communities, culture and youth employment. I’ll say more about them as I talk about each country in turn
Portugal is Britain’s oldest ally. At the outbreak of the First World War, the then- Prime Minister of Portugal made a moving speech to the Portuguese Parliament famously saying that if Britain was at war with Germany then so was Portugal. It is a bond which has endured for six centuries and lacks no contemporary relevance, be it in terms of commercial and investment opportunities for Britain’s economy, our shared membership of the EU and NATO, or in terms of the close relationship between the Royal Navy and her Portuguese counterpart.
Spain is also a European and NATO partner of enormous importance. The contemporary relationship has trade and investment opportunity at its heart. Spain is our 7th largest overseas market. British companies export more to Spain every year than to China and India combined – it is worth £15 billion a year to our economy – and Spain has now overtaken the USA as the largest investor in the UK, supporting thousands of British jobs led by household names such as Santander, O2, the British Airports Authority and Scottish Power. Perhaps less well known – but important for this Tour – is Spain’s leading role in developing renewable energy. There are opportunities for Britain here, too, as we develop our (and the EU’s) vision of a Low Carbon High Growth economic future. The Prince of Wales was invited to address the European Parliament on this subject last month. Needless to say, there are very sizeable British communities in Spain and Portugal. In addition to having the pleasure of meeting some of our expatriate compatriots, Their Royal Highnesses will highlight initiatives to assist Britons living in Spain who find themselves in financial hardship or other difficulties, particularly retired and vulnerable members of our community.
The art and architecture students among us will know that the Moorish cultural influence on Spain found its way to Britain in the Dark Ages, inspiring the familiar Gothic arches and trefoils we see in so many of our churches. This cultural trail leads us from Spain to our final destination, Morocco.
I wanted to say that, with Her Majesty’s Government, we have naturally been following developments with the closest attention. The Foreign Secretary has asked The Prince of Wales and The Duchess of Cornwall to maintain their visit to Morocco. There will be some trade and investment components to our programme though this part of the relationship is less well-developed than in our other destinations. We will have explored interfaith issues in Spain but they will have a particular focus and resonance in Morocco. Environmental issues and climate change will also be to the fore. We will visit the Oasis at Errachidia, beyond the Atlas Mountains, where we will see how village communities are taking imaginative measures to mitigate the encroachment of the desert. They are adapting their lifestyles and reorienting their local economies to cope with and, crucially, to stop large-scale migrations of people from rural communities to the cities.
As usual, The Duchess of Cornwall will accompany The Prince of Wales on the overwhelming majority of public engagements. Given the shortness of time for this visit and the wide range of issues to be addressed, Her Royal Highness will also undertake some solo engagements.
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