1. Introduction
This is Glasgow’s international strategy. It sets out priorities for the city in connecting with the rest of the world.
The strategy looks to do three main things:
- Acknowledge Glasgow’s role as a place that has been connecting with the rest of the world in various ways for a very long time.
- Build on those links so that Glaswegian businesses and communities can benefit from them.
- Chart a course for future progress and prosperity through Glasgow’s engagement with people and the global marketplace.
In 2025 Glasgow celebrates our 850th anniversary as we mark the moment when our home received formal Burgh Status. And with the prospect of Glasgow hosting a reimagined Commonwealth Games in 2026, now is therefore a good time to reflect on our city’s position and reputation in the world. We are an internationalist and a global city, and always have been. This strategy sets out how we will build on our strengths as a highly skilled, welcoming and inclusive place, no matter your background.
We are immensely proud of our city, and all that it has created. We want all our citizens to share that deep sense of pride in our collective accomplishments. Glasgow is a place with enormous global reach. But we do not rest on our laurels. We can be more. Through our international work, we want all Glaswegians to continue to take pride in the city that they call home.
Our vision is that Glasgow continues to flourish on the international stage. Our comparator cities have developed international strategies. We have looked at them and sought to learn from them. Some of Glasgow’s own institutions have also described their own global connections and stated their ambitions. The city works best when it works together, and this strategy sets out practical ways of making a highly collaborative approach to our international role both effective and successful.
Glasgow has always been closely integrated with the rest of the world. From prehistoric small settlements around the River Clyde, with ecclesiastic and regional power centres around Glasgow Cathedral and Govan in medieval times, Glasgow became home to one of the world’s oldest universities and later built an unrivalled shipping and maritime industry, with mercantile progress in many fields. This only happened because of our links to the wider world. Links forged from our academic and economic abilities, were enhanced and grown by our artistic and cultural excellence. This legacy continues to inspire to this day.
Glasgow today is a world-leader in many respects. It stands in stark contrast to the city of 50 years ago. Our economy has transformed dramatically, though we retain our focus on engineering excellence. We have actively supported and cultivated a strong innovation ecosystem, creating the goods, services and techniques that will transform the world economy.
In many ways, Glasgow’s transformation and regeneration has been Culture-led. Using significant cultural events as a catalyst for change has resulted in a dramatic growth in leisure and business tourism, contributing to and strengthening the city's economy.
Our population is growing. Driven by more diverse and younger groups choosing to make the city their home through inward migration. These new Glaswegians are a cause of celebration, and Glasgow remains a place where diversity is embraced as our strength.
But we know that we can do more and be more. It is for that reason that we have worked with partners to develop our International Strategy. It seeks to bring together the strands of our many partners and to articulate how we will work together to grow the prosperity of our city and its communities.
This is a statement of the opportunities that we believe Glasgow would benefit from, and how we will work to realise them. Whilst this document will comprise the first International Strategy for the Council in many years, it has not been created from scratch, or in isolation. It brings together, and complements, the city’s work to date. It is a further expression of the commitment in the Council’s strategic plan to a fair and sustainable city where everyone gets to contribute, and all can benefit from a flourishing Glasgow.
In the following pages, we will: set out our vision; demonstrate in which ways a focused international agenda is required to support the delivery of our strategic commitments; explain how we will deliver and govern this strategy; and present the specific steps that we will take.
