03 Feb Global Manchester: city leadership in foreign policy – Manchester Gazette

Image: https://www.tecmark.co.uk/

Ahead of the British Foreign Policy Group’s event in Manchester, on the city’s global links and ambitions, our National Events & Engagement Manager, Katarina Kosmala-Dahlbeck, wrote for the Manchester Gazette on what ‘Global Manchester’ means, and how a more grassroots-led foreign policy can help the city make the most of its soft power assets.

Katarina said: “it is clear from our work at the British Foreign Policy Group that the cities, regions and nations of the UK increasingly have their own organic links with international actors that have rarely, if ever, been considered at the national level. Tom Cargill, Executive Chair of the BFPG, cites examples from Manchester’s growing links with cities in India and China, to Plymouth’s initiative with Dutch and US counterparts to celebrate 400 years since the sailing of the Mayflower to illustrate the growing fragmentation of international links and the policy decisions that arise from them.

The business links and foreign policy priorities of the UK’s regions certainly address some of the key issues facing the government today, contributing to increasing collaboration between Whitehall and local governments. Cities have consistently been on the front lines of climate policy in the UK, for example, and South Wales has grown to become a global hub for the cyber-security industry as cyber becomes a central aspect of the UK’s national security agenda.”

Katarina went on to say: “In many areas, grassroots foreign policy – or paradiplomacy – is hugely sophisticated and comprehensive. There are around 125 multilateral arrangements of subnational governments, and notable examples include the Local Governments for Sustainability (ICLEI) and the United Cities and Local Governments (UCLG).

The challenge for the United Kingdom is enabling our growing cities to keep up with the increasing complexity of the UK’s international links – as our relationship with Europe changes, and new relationships begin to be forged across the world.”

You can read the full article here.

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The British Foreign Policy Group is an independent, non-partisan think tank based in London. Through dynamic research, events and networks, we seek to strengthen the UK’s international engagement, and advance our understanding of global affairs in the 21st Century.

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