Foreign ministers reaffirm Iceland’s place in European family

Relations between Iceland and the Benelux countries, Russia’s invasion of Ukraine and transatlantic ties were at the centre of a meeting between Icelandic Foreign Minister Þorgerður Katrín Gunnarsdóttir and the foreign ministers of Belgium, the Netherlands and Luxembourg, mbl.is reported.

Maxime Prévot of Belgium, Tom Berendsen of the Netherlands and Xavier Bettel of Luxembourg attended the meeting at Iceland’s Ministry for Foreign Affairs on Thursday.

“These countries have been close friends of Iceland for decades, and we discussed how we can strengthen our ties even further, particularly in defence and security, as well as trade and economic affairs,” Þorgerður Katrín said in a statement.

She said the meeting was very positive. When the result of the referendum was discussed, the three ministers stressed that they respected the will of the majority of Iceland’s population, but that the result would not change the countries’ good relationship.

“We are truly an inseparable part of the European family, both as a strong partner in cooperation and, not least, through the European Economic Area, which we want to strengthen,” she added.

During their visit, the ministers learned about the operations of Orkuveitan at Hellisheiði, met Prime Minister Kristrún Frostadóttir and visited the security area at Keflavík Airport.