A firefighter from the north-east will be recognised for his efforts to save lives in the aftermath of the Nepal earthquake at a ceremony in Edinburgh today.
Firefighter Martyn Ferguson, from Turriff, was part of the 60-strong UK international search and rescue team dispatched to the disaster zone in April.
He is one of a number of volunteers who will share their experiences with International Development Minister Desmond Swayne.
Mr Swayne will also meet a doctor and a charity worker with Mercy Corps who helped co-ordinate the relief mission following the Nepal earthquake, which killed almost 9,000 people and left 900,000 homes damaged or destroyed.
The minister hailed the “hundreds of aid workers, of firefighters, of medics” from Scotland who helped out in the aftermath of the earthquake, and other disasters.
He also highlighted the effort of Scottish charities “who spearheaded the relief effort” in Nepal, and after the Ebola outbreak in Africa.
“Scotland is integral to everything we do,” Mr Swayne said.
“We wield enormous influence in this very important agenda to the world here and now, and Scotland is at the very heart of that.”
The minister highlighted the Make Poverty History march in Edinburgh a decade ago as being key in giving the UK “real authority” with its aid work.
More than 225,000 people took to the streets of Edinburgh to call on world leaders to act as the G8 summit was being held at Gleneagles in July 2005.
The talks resulted in aid to Africa being doubled, with an agreement also reached to eliminate the outstanding debts of the world’s poorest countries.
Legislation passed by Westminster earlier this year ties the UK to spending 0.7% of gross national income (GNI) on overseas aid.
Mr Swayne said: “This is the only country, the United Kingdom, which is spending 0.7% on overseas development aid and 2% on defence, so we are keeping people safe here and saving lives overseas.”
Referring to the thousands of migrants who are fleeing northern Africa for Europe, he said: “We see the tide of population attempting to get across the Mediterranean. The only way to stem that flow is to invest in the unstable and poor countries they’re fleeing from if we’re to have any stability in the future.”