Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:

To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Affairs, what steps her Department is taking to promote Northern Ireland’s economic and cultural interests through UK embassies overseas.

The Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office (FCDO) is committed to ensuring the Devolved Governments' economic and cultural interests are promoted internationally. Invest Northern Ireland officials are co-located in a number of FCDO overseas posts, and across the world our missions work to promote Northern Ireland, and the UK as a whole. This includes supporting Northern Ireland Ministers when they travel overseas.

As part of a series of new Heads of Mission Roadshows to UK countries and regions, our High Commissioner to Singapore visited Northern Ireland in September 2025 to advance opportunities for Singaporean foreign direct investment in Northern Ireland. The most recent Soft Power Council Meeting was also held in Belfast in October. This was a key forum for the FCDO, the Department for Culture, Media and Sport, the Devolved Governments and stakeholders in Northern Ireland to come together and create a unified strategy that can leverage the UK's cultural offer internationally.

I was delighted to host representatives of Northern Ireland creative industries at the recent Western Balkans summit at Hillsborough Castle, and to showcase the best of Northern Ireland to visiting Foreign Ministers and officials.