Banging the drum for Brand Scotland in the United States - Ian Murray

A new deal with the Royal Edinburgh Military Tattoo will help to champion Scotland across the globe. Photo: Jane Barlow/PA Wire

That’s the feeling I came away with after my trade mission to the US last week to promote Brand Scotland, which is my Scotland Office initiative to promote Scottish services and businesses on the international stage and boost inward investment.

I was in the US at a momentous time with key representatives from Scottish businesses for Tartan Week. It was a fantastic opportunity to showcase Scotland’s strengths and potential, including in financial services, food and drink, life sciences, clean energy, video games and defence. In all of these areas and more, Scotland is open for business and gaining much needed investment.

In addition to celebrating Scotland as part of the Tartan Week celebrations, there was a series of meetings and roundtables with key sectors and investors. In an effort aimed at boosting growth here in Scotland, we invited companies to attend the Scottish Investor Summit which will take place in Edinburgh later this year.

The Summit will bring together international investors, Scottish and UK business leaders, government and universities. Around 150 senior-level attendees are expected to attend from all around the world. It will be a huge opportunity to attract international investment to Scotland, which will create well-paid jobs, improve living standards and put more money in people’s pockets. It’s all part of the Labour Government’s Plan for Change, to boost economic growth and use the proceeds to build a country fit for the future.

On a different note, I was delighted to sign a strategic partnership with the Royal Edinburgh Military Tattoo, which will see them accompany future Brand Scotland trade missions, including to Japan and Australia later this year. The Tattoo has been a key cultural ambassador for Scotland for many years, opening doors through their soft power, and it’s great that their cultural reach will now be harnessed to promote Scotland’s success on the global stage. It was a moving moment to see them kick off the Tartan Week celebrations in Washington, DC on the steps of the iconic Capitol building.

More broadly, I was really pleased to help cement broader ties between Scotland and the US, joining the Tartan Day parade in New York and laying a wreath at the 9/11 memorial to pay tribute to the remarkable resilience of the people of New York and the heroism of its emergency service workers.

I even made my debut on Broadway. Playing the washboard in an Appalachia Tattoo musical mash up.

Scotland’s future is full of immense promise. But to reap the rewards of that promise, we have to seize hold of the opportunities we have and create jobs and growth at home. Brand Scotland is doing exactly that.