Iceland, China push ahead after FTA

Iceland is exploring opportunities to work more closely with China on Arctic scientific research, resources development, as well as other businesses, says Gunnar Bragi Sveinsson, Iceland's minister for foreign affairs and external trade.

Ties between the two nations have been guided by the 1994 investment agreement and other bilateral announcements over the years, Sveinsson said in an interview to Xinhua News Agency in London during The Economist's Arctic Summit 2014.

"Our ties with China have been good and long-lasting and we see them (China) as an important player in the world," says the minister.

"We seek opportunities to work closer with China when it comes to research and even for business in the Arctic. In fact, a Chinese company has been granted license to explore oil and gas resources in the Dreki area, which is located between Iceland and Jan Mayen Island," he says.

According to Icelandic newspaper Vidskiptabladid, China National Offshore Oil Corporation had reached an agreement with the privately held Eykon Energy for joint exploration of the country's offshore Dreki area.

According to Sveinsson, Arctic development is now a policy priority for the Icelandic government.

"China has shown great interest in research in Iceland on the Arctic. We have a northern lights research station owned by the Chinese government-run Polar Research Institute of China. So there are lots of opportunities that we can pursue," Sveinsson says.

Iceland Review magazine reported last October that PRIC scientists had gone to Iceland to set up a northern lights station in Reykjadalur, northeast Iceland.

The foreign minister also indicated that the free trade agreement signed with China represents another major breakthrough in bilateral ties.

"I think both countries can benefit from it in many ways, and we are looking forward to keeping working with the Chinese government."

Last April, Iceland became the first European country to sign an FTA with China. In January this year, the deal was ratified by the Iceland parliament. Ministry of Commerce officials have indicated that the agreement would come into effect during the second half of this year.

According to data compiled by Iceland's Ministry for Foreign Affairs, annual growth of merchandise exports from Iceland to China had more than doubled from 2010 to 2012, while Iceland's imports from China have grown fivefold in the last decade, accounting for 7.6 percent of Iceland's total merchandise imports in 2012.

Iceland is expecting to increase its exports to China, mainly in fishery and other agricultural sectors, and the country also wants more Chinese tourists to visit Iceland, Sveinsson says.

"We have seen some Icelandic tourism companies that are opening offices in China, so I believe there will be more tourists from China in the next few years, though now they have to go to Iceland by way of Helsinki," he says.

"Hopefully in the future, we will see direct flights between China and Iceland," Sveinsson says.

(China Daily European Weekly 03/07/2014 page22)