Derek Mackay said his budget would support City Region Deals for Aberdeen and Inverness as well as growth deals for Moray, Argyll and Bute and the islands.
The finance secretary’s budget document said the government was committed to spending £1.27 billion in the lifetime of Scotland’s eight City Region deals including those in Aberdeen and Inverness.
In 2019/20 Mr Mackay said £187m would be spent on the city deals, and pledged that the government will continue working to progress regional deals in Moray, Argyll and the three island councils.
The regional deals will learn from the established City Region Deals.
In Aberdeen, the focus will be on developing its oil and gas technology centre while in Inverness the cash will towards skills academies to help youngsters towards careers in science and engineering.
Mr Mackay said: “These investments will benefit all of Scotland, creating thousands of jobs and up-skilling labour markets, building on the economic strengths and opportunities for each region.”
The other areas to benefit from deal status are Falkirk, Ayrshire and the Borderlands and the Tay Cities deal for Dundee and Perth, Angus, North East Fife, Stirling and Clackmannanshire and the cities of Glasgow and Edinburgh.