Speech at the Icelandic Business Seminar in St. John´ s and Halifax.

9/26/00

Valgerður Sverrisdóttir,
Minister of Indystry and Commerce.




Opening remarks by the
Minister of Industry and Commerce
The Government of Iceland
at the Icelandic Business Seminar
in St. John}s and Halifax
September 26 and 28, 2000



Good morning ladies and gentlemen and welcome to this Icelandic Business Seminar.

It is a particular pleasure for me to be here in St, Johns [Halifax]. It is not often that anyone has the opportunity to commemorate a thousand-year-old legacy. I am here referring to - as many of you know - the legacy of one thousand years since the Icelander Leif Ericsson made his historic voyage to North America. It was here on the shores of the Atlantic Provinces of Canada that the Icelandic Vikings founded the first European outpost on this Continent.

It is important that both Canadians, especially the people of Newfoundland [Nova Scotia] and the people of Iceland value this achievement as it is an important part of our common cultural heritage.

It is because of this cultural heritage and also because we share similar values that I feel that both the people of the Atlantic Provinces of Canada and the Icelanders should make a serious effort in order to increase the relations between the two countries for their mutual benefit. Bringing this business delegation to St. John}s and Halifax is a part of that effort.

In order to emphasize how important we consider these relations and the effort that we are willing to devote to this mission I am pleased to inform you that the Trade Council of Iceland has decided to place a permanent Marketing Consultant in St. John}s for a period of two years. The Marketing Consultant Mr. Stefan Antonsson will primarily serve business interests in the Atlantic Provinces of Canada, especially Newfoundland and Nova Scotia.

It is also with pleasure that I notice a growing interest among Icelandic investors and venture capitalists for investments in these Provinces.

The business delegation consists of 24 Icelandic companies, representatives from the Trade Council of Iceland and from a regional Economical Development Office in northern Iceland. Their participation in the preparation of this trip and conference is highly appreciated.

We have quite an extensive program ahead of us.

First we will be informed about a few basic facts related to the economy of Iceland.
After that we have a presentation on our Foreign Trade
to be followed by information on investment opportunities in Iceland.
Then we will be informed about the ongoing free trade negotiation between EFTA and Canada. When we started preparations for this visit I had great hopes that by now this agreement between EFTA and Canada had already been signed. But unfortunately that is not the case.
The last and probably the most important item on the agenda to day is the introduction of the participating Companies.

Ladies and gentlemen: Thank you.