Bjarni Benediktsson leads task force to map trade opportunities
Thursday 22nd October 2026 on 20:15 in
Iceland
A new task force led by former prime minister Bjarni Benediktsson will assess opportunities and challenges in foreign trade and identify new business prospects for Iceland, mbl.is reports. Benediktsson is now managing director of SA. The group is expected to submit an action plan with objectives early in 2027.
Foreign Minister Þorgerður Katrín Gunnarsdóttir recently appointed the group. It held its first meeting at the Ministry for Foreign Affairs in Austurhöfn on Wednesday, according to a ministry statement.
The task force will assess Iceland’s position in the international trading system and recent developments. Its work will cover both nearby and distant markets, including the European Economic Area’s internal market, the United States, the United Kingdom, Canada and markets in Asia.
It will propose clear, shared objectives for the government and business community, as well as measures that can be taken in the short and medium term. The group will consider how to strengthen Iceland’s position to support competitiveness in international trade and economic growth, and how to improve the promotion of Iceland’s interests and identify new business opportunities.
“In times of upheaval, it is important that the government and business community work together in the interests of Iceland,” Gunnarsdóttir said in the statement. She said she had high expectations for the group, whose members she described as capable and ambitious on Iceland’s behalf.
The task force will also examine the EEA Agreement and how best to protect Iceland’s interests under it. It will consider ways to strengthen cooperation under the agreement, including the adoption of measures and their implementation in Icelandic law.
Alongside Benediktsson, the group comprises Hrund Rudolfsdóttir and Sigurður Hannesson. The Ministry for Foreign Affairs is represented by Högni S. Kristjánsson, an ambassador at its Trade Office, and Rún Ingvarsdóttir, an assistant to the foreign minister. A team from the ministry’s Trade Office and Íslandsstofa will support the group.