Five overseas Welsh government offices to open in 2018

Montreal will join the cities across the world that are home to Welsh Government offices

More overseas offices will be opened by the Welsh Government in 2018 in a bid to increase trade post-Brexit.

Premises in Canada, France, Germany and Qatar will open, meaning the government will have a presence in 20 locations.

The Federation of Small Business has said Welsh exports to countries where offices were located had fallen, but ministers have disputed the statistics.

Welsh Conservatives have called for trade envoys to be appointed and based in UK embassies instead.

According to the latest statistics, Wales exported almost £16bn worth of goods in the year ending June 2017 - an increase of £2.39bn on the previous year.

Of those, the majority - almost 60% - continue to be sent to EU countries.

Germany (£3bn) is the largest export market for Welsh goods followed by France (£2.6bn), the USA (£2.3bn), Ireland (£955m) and the Netherlands (£672m).

Canada was the ninth largest at £392m and Qatar the 15th, importing £172m worth of goods.

The Welsh Government plans to open offices in Berlin, Doha, Dusseldorf, Montreal and Paris in 2018. Overseas teams help Welsh exporters with investment decisions.

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In a speech at Cardiff Metropolitan University on Monday night, First Minister Carwyn Jones is expected to say that "increasing our presence in these key markets... has never been more important as we face a future outside of the European Union".

He will add: "Leaving the EU will create challenges, as well as opportunities.

"That is why we are expanding our presence in Europe and across the globe, so we are able to meet with, and attract, new investors and sell Welsh goods to overseas customers.

"If we turn our backs on the [EU's] single market and shut ourselves off from vital European trading markets, it would be hugely damaging to our economy."

In its Brexit document published jointly with Plaid Cymru, the Welsh Government outlined its belief that "continued full and unfettered access to the single market is fundamental to our future."

Plaid's Brexit spokesman Steffan Lewis has called for a "comprehensive international policy for Wales that encompasses everything from trade to international development".

He asked the first minister in the assembly last week if he would seek to have Wales included on Anholt-GFK nations brand index, which measures the reputations of countries, in order to "ascertain our global reputation that could then inform a future international policy".

Mr Jones said Wales had taken part in the "expensive" survey in the past but "it wasn't clear what it delivered for what it cost us".

The Welsh Conservatives' economy spokesman Russell George said they would prefer to appoint trade envoys to be based at UK embassies rather than open new offices.

He pointed to criticism from the Federation of Small Business which claimed overseas offices had "no tangible effect" on exports.

"We need to see a more dynamic approach to boosting foreign trade, and the Welsh Government's overseas offices are not fulfilling their potential," Mr George said.

He said trade envoys "can play a key role in the new era, harnessing the expertise of the business community to help support Welsh businesses in growing and succeeding internationally".

Meanwhile US Ambassador Robert Johnson, who held talks with Mr Jones in Cardiff on Monday, welcomed the importance the Welsh Government was placing on trade links with his country.

Mr Johnson said: "They've made a tremendous effort in establishing beach-heads in five cities - including New York, Washington DC, and Chicago - to tell American business people and investors why Wales is a great place to be."

"We are one of the largest investors or the largest investor in Wales, so this is extremely important for the US", he said.

"If we can have more trade and generate more interest and more vitality on both sides through policies like taxation, regulation and just encouragement, I think it can benefit both sides and certainly live up to what the president wants to do, which is create American jobs and prosperity."