THE first high-level meeting in a decade between the Scottish and Catalan governments resulted in First Minister Nicola Sturgeon accepting an invitation from President Quim Torra to make an official visit to Catalonia.
A Freedom of Information request by The Herald yesterday confirmed what The National revealed when the two leaders met early last month in Edinburgh.
Torra told us then that the First Minister had accepted his invitation to Barcelona during their “very cordial” meeting at her official residence, Bute House.
READ MORE: Catalan President Quim Torra talks about meeting Nicola Sturgeon
He added: “I said thanks to the First Minister for her support to the Catalan referendum and to the Scottish people for their sympathy and solidarity with the Catalan people.
“Self-determination is one of the most powerful ideas in Europe connected with democracy, civil rights and human rights.”
Catalonia’s parliament is in summer recess, but the government hopes to organise a date for the visit in the coming weeks. The minutes, to which The National has also had access, said Sturgeon and Torra agreed that dialogue was key to the “challenging and complex situation” in Catalonia.
“They agreed that the way forward for Catalonia must be through peaceful and democratic solutions involving dialogue between the Spanish and Catalan authorities, respecting the right to self-determination of the Catalan people,” they read.
“The president extended an invite to the First Minister to visit Barcelona, the First Minister indicated she would be delighted to do so.”
The meeting between Torra and Sturgeon was the first between the two governments since Alex Salmond visited Barcelona in 2008, when he met with Socialist Party President Jose Montilla, a unionist.
Meanwhile, the Spanish government is set to approve legal amendments to ensure the remains of dictator General Francisco Franco can be exhumed in the near future.
The government of Socialist prime minister Pedro Sanchez has made removing Franco from the Valley Of The Fallen, a mausoleum 30 miles from Madrid, one of its headline policies.
Culture Minister Jose Guirao said yesterday the amendments were likely to be approved at a cabinet meeting on Friday. They aim to block an expected legal challenge from Franco’s descendants.
Elsewhere, a judge in Belgium has postponed until next month a decision on whether rapper Valtonyc will be extradited to Spain.
The rapper was sentenced to more than three years in prison for allegedly glorifying terrorism and slander in song lyrics, which made references to the police and the king of Spain.
He has been summoned to the Ghent court on September 3, when a ruling could be made.
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