11 June 2015

First Minister Nicola Sturgeon continued her USA trip by travelling to Washington for a series of discussions and meetings.

She first met John B. King, Jr, Deputy Secretary of the US Department of Education, to discuss educational attainment and share with him experiences and best practices from Scotland’s education system.

From there, the First Minister was off to meet Antony Blinken, the Deputy Secretary of State.

It was a friendly and constructive meeting in which the longstanding ties between Scotland and the USA were reaffirmed.

They discussed a range of issues including the outcome of the UK General Election and the new political landscape in Scotland, the economy, the Scottish Government’s support for continued membership of the EU and wider shared cultural, economic and social interests.

It was then on to Takoma Park Middle School in Maryland to discuss school meals and the nutritional value they provide. She was joined by Dr Katie Wilson, Deputy Undersecretary for food nutrition and consumer services.

The First Minister also joined a panel discussion entitled ‘Economy and Equality Go Hand in Hand’ at the World Bank. She said creating a fairer society would strengthen the economy.

FM @NicolaSturgeon speaks at the @WorldBank about how "economy and equality go hand in hand" pic.twitter.com/NVJire9PtW

— First Minister (@ScotGovFM) June 10, 2015

You can read what the First Minister said by clicking here.

Her next engagement was a meeting with Christine Lagarde, the Managing Director of the International Monetary Fund.

The IMF is an organisation of 188 countries, working to foster global monetary cooperation, secure financial stability, facilitate international trade, promote high employment and sustainable economic growth, and reduce poverty around the world.

The First Minister was joined at the meeting by the chief executive of Scottish Enterprise, Lena Wilson, and the Scottish Government’s chief economist Gary Gillespie.

It was a productive discussion on the current position of the Scottish economy and the Scottish Government’s approach to increasing competitiveness and tackling inequality.

They also discussed the shared interest between Scotland and the IMF in increasing female participation in the economy and improving the representation of women at all levels in business.