Sandy Cumming, chief executive of Highlands and Islands Enterprise, has welcomed the Scottish Executive's new strategy for enterprise, 'A Smart, Successful Scotland', which was launched in Edinburgh today (Tuesday 30 January) by Enterprise and Lifelong Learning Minister Wendy Alexander.

"The new strategy endorses the concept of the enterprise networks and praises their achievements to date," said Mr Cumming. "That endorsement is as important as it is welcome.

"Rightly, too, it recognises that the world has moved on since 1991 - and that change has become a constant factor in our lives.

"In the Highlands and Islands, there is a momentum to our present pace of social and economic development which the new strategy will help us drive forward.

"The challenge which now lies before us is to improve on our past performance, learn from experience and deliver a quality of service which is consistent, accessible and reaches out to the most remote and disadvantaged communities in the land.

"The way ahead will be about building confidence, not complacency; being innovative, not inward-looking; co-operating with other agencies, not competing against them, and creating social justice, not social exclusion.

"These are the goals we mean to pursue throughout the Highlands and Islands to play a full part in realising the vision of a smart, successful Scotland."