A NEW report has called on ministers to champion investment in arts and culture by the public and private sectors.
The British Council document published said governments should do this as a means of creating social and economic benefit, to reduce inequality and build trust between countries.
It coincides with yesterday's start of the two-day Edinburgh International Culture Summit at the Scottish Parliament.
The report argues that culture is able to bring people together from intellectually or culturally disparate groups and build trust and dialogue between them.
It also suggests that culture provides a powerful means to engage people in issues they may otherwise fail to see or choose to ignore.
Lloyd Anderson, director of British Council Scotland, said: "The British Council has always believed in every country the exchange of culture is all the more important when political relationships are fraught.
"It is important we maintain the people-to-people, museum-to-museum, gallery-to-gallery, and theatre-to-theatre cultural contact. The emotional links created by culture can be as powerful as shorter term political or economic alliances; culture binds in ways which transcend money and politics."
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