Alex Salmond yesterday forged a new link with a like-minded Catalan who was visiting Holyrood to learn more about plans for holding an independence referendum.

Josep-Lluis Carod-Rovira, vice-president of the government of Catalonia, is a senior member of a three-party, left of centre coalition in the Barcelona parliament. He was in Scotland to gain an insight on how to develop a stronger national identity.

He told Catalan journalists travelling to Edinburgh that he envies the strong sense of Scottish identity and its worldwide profile, and said Catalans could learn from both. He would also prefer to follow the Scottish example by having a Catalan football team, as well as other sports, participating in international tournaments, though the Madrid Parliament has voted against this. There was praise for the British government for taking a more positive approach to Scottish identity than the Spanish government does to Catalan.

The vice-president, effectively deputy first minister in the semi-autonomous region of Spain, said there are lessons the SNP Government is keen to learn from Catalonia about its business culture and extensive network of foreign embassies, which could act as a model for Scotland.

At their meeting yesterday, Mr Salmond accepted an invitation to visit Barcelona next autumn. He turned down an offer to see Celtic play Barcelona on March 4 due to parliamentary scheduling.

A working group is also being set up to build stronger links, including foreign minister Linda Fabiani and her opposite number in the Catalan administration.