Will the Cabinet Secretary provide an update on the progress of the Irish Sea Framework?
The Welsh Government continues to drive forward the Irish Sea Framework, working closely with relevant stakeholders and governments across and around the Irish Sea space. In the last financial year, we invested over £150k in projects supporting the Framework through our Agile Cymru programme, supporting co-operation in priority areas such as the marine economy, life sciences, culture and language. Agile Cymru will continue to fund co-operation in the Irish Sea space during this financial year.
The Welsh Government is also a key partner in an application for Peace Plus funding with the Irish Southern Regional Assembly, Northern Ireland Executive and Scottish Government. If successful, the project will support the Framework’s aims, deepening existing links and developing new ones. We are also aware of other funding proposals which will align with the Framework.
We are continuing our discussions with the Irish Government at an official level, and progress on the Irish Sea Framework will be discussed at the next Ireland-Wales Joint Ministerial Forum.