Foreign Minister Thordarson meets with Foreign Secretary Johnson

Today Foreign Minister Gudlaugur Thor Thordarson met with his British counterpart, Foreign Secretary Boris Johnson, in London to discuss ways to increase political cooperation and enhance strong trade relations between Iceland and the United Kingdom, post-Brexit.

“At our meeting we agreed on the importance on maintaining the robust and strong partnership our nations have enjoyed throughout the decades and the need to further build on our solid trade relations after the UK leaves the European Union. Britain is a key partner for Iceland and will play an important role in the future development of world trade. Iceland and the UK share a common pragmatic approach to free trade which is guided by the needs of our vibrant economies,” Foreign Minister Thordarson said. “Iceland and the UK are natural partners in championing free trade and the UK can count on Iceland to be a constructive partner in its endeavours to pursue global trade.”

To this end, the Ministers agreed today to enhance the regular bilateral trade and political dialogue to pursue deeper cooperation in selected policy areas, with further talks scheduled for later this year. Iceland's expertise in building sustainable and successful fishing policies will continue as an area of enhanced cooperation, and visits to share experiences have already taken place.

The dialogue will also address energy and environmental issues with a view to fostering closer ties in the area of renewable energy cooperation and Arctic affairs. On security and defence, the Ministers agreed that officials would examine enhanced scope for cooperation between the countries both within NATO and bilaterally.

”We also used our meeting to discuss the importance of human rights protection and expressed our continued commitment to promote gender equality and support for the #HeforShe initative,” Foreign Minister Thordarson said.