Independent Scotland would be ‘good global citizen’

The Scottish Government is set to publish a new policy paper (Yui Mok/PA)

An independent Scotland would promote peace, prosperity and climate action on the world stage, the country’s external affairs secretary has said.

Angus Robertson will on Monday launch a new policy paper, titled An independent Scotland’s place in the world, and said Scotland would be a “good global citizen”.

The Scottish Government paper will cover how Scotland would represent itself on the international stage in its own right for the first time if it were to become independent, saying it would have a seat at the table at the UN, the EU and other important global and regional forums.

It will set out the Government’s proposals for joining the international community as a sovereign state, a full Nato member and undertaking international development work to champion the voices of global south countries.

It will also discuss proposals for the armed forces in an independent Scotland, including the removal of nuclear weapons from the country.

Mr Robertson said: “Independence would mean that Scotland gets to determine the type of nation it wants to be on the world stage.

“A nation that acts based on its values and principles, promotes human rights and development, and builds partnerships with other countries and international organisations to address global challenges.

“As an independent country, we could renew and strengthen our existing relationships on these islands and around the world – promoting peace, prosperity and climate action, as a good global citizen committed to safeguarding human rights and upholding international law and the rules-based order.

“Scotland has a long history of being an outward-looking nation and I look forward to setting out our proposals in detail.”

It will be the latest in a series of Scottish Government papers, titled Building a New Scotland, which are described as forming a prospectus for an independent Scotland.

A UK Government spokesperson said: “People in Scotland want both their governments to be concentrating on the issues that matter most to them, like growing our economy, continuing to cut inflation and improving public services.

“We want to work constructively with the Scottish Government to tackle our shared challenges because that is what families and businesses in Scotland expect.

“This is not the time to be talking about distracting constitutional change.”