THE UK's culture secretary has said Edinburgh's festivals will thrive after Brexit as long as they commit to finding new "national and international" partnerships.

Karen Bradley, Secretary of State for Digital, Culture, Media and Sport, who has been in Scotland for two days, said the success of the Edinburgh International Festival (EIF) and the Fringe is in "their commitment to innovate, evolve and seek new national and international partnerships."

Fergus Linehan, the director of the EIF, has expressed dismay over the Brexit referendum vote and has admitted that some of his planning for future festivals is being delayed or put on hold by the consequences of the vote.

However Ms Bradley said last night: "As we move towards our exit from the European Union, my job as Culture Secretary is to help facilitate these partnerships and champion culture and creativity across Scotland and the whole of the UK.

"That will help ensure that the Edinburgh Festivals are still thriving in another 70 years."

Ms Bradley also visited the site of the new V&A Museum of Design Dundee and said it would help the city gain international recognition.

She said it would have a "truly transformational" effect on the city.

Ms Bradley added: "Art and culture are a fundamental part of the United Kingdom.

"It’s what we are famous for internationally, central to our way of life, and a vital asset in strengthening our relationships with countries across the world."

Ms Bradley praised the history of the festival and its enormous attraction to visitors.

She said: "When Sir Rudolf Bing decided to create an international festival in Edinburgh in 1947, I wonder whether he could have imagined the impact it would continue to have 70 years later.

"His vision spawned the biggest arts festival in the world that every year attracts more than four million people to Scotland’s capital.

"To put that in context, that is on a par with those that attend the World Cup every four years."

Ms Bradley made a case for "arts for arts sake" by adding: "Culture is vitally important in and of itself - and there is no greater example of its power than the 12 Edinburgh festivals.

"From classical music to jazz, from storytelling to science, from comedy to theatre, from literature to film and much more besides, they salute and celebrate the very essence of creativity."

Ms Bradley noted that the twelve festivals generate more than £300m every year for the Scottish economy.

She added: "For one month every year, the city is transformed when the world’s greatest artists, comedians, dancers, musicians, storytellers and writers descend.

"And of course many more fantastic cultural events are put on throughout the year.

"I am delighted to be visiting once again this week."

The culture secretary said that the new concert hall in St Andrew Square, which will be the new home for the Scottish Chamber Orchestra, will be a "genuinely world-class concert venue for the city, and indeed the whole of Scotland, and further enhance Edinburgh’s global reputation as a cultural beacon."

A fund of £10m for the hall is part of Edinburgh's new City Region Deal, with cash from the UK Treasury and the Scottish Government.