Scotland is to become one of the first countries in the world to sign up to a new international action plan aimed at tackling poverty and inequality and promoting sustainable development.

We need to grasp the opportunity that following this path offers to create a fairer Scotland and a better world both now and for generations to come.

First Minister Nicola Sturgeon has announced that the country will adopt the new United Nations Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs), which outline a number of high-level objectives for countries, including ending poverty, ensuring access to education and achieving gender equality.

The goals, which will be formally confirmed at the UN’s General Assembly in New York in September, form the basis of a global partnership for sustainable development, engaging governments, civil society, the private sector and the UN system.