President Parmelin attends EFTA Ministerial Conference in Reykjavik

The Ministerial Conference took place in Reykjavik at the invitation of the Chair of the EFTA Council, the Icelandic Foreign Minister Þorgerður Katrín Gunnarsdóttir. The ministers from Iceland, Liechtenstein, Norway and Switzerland discussed EFTA’s ongoing work and outlook. Against a backdrop of geopolitical uncertainty, they emphasised the importance of an open, rules-based international trading system and of close cooperation between the EFTA states.

Under the framework of the Interim Agreement between the EFTA States and the Palestinian Authority, the ministers of Iceland, Norway and Switzerland signed updated bilateral agricultural agreements with the Palestinian Minister for Economic Affairs, Mohammed Al-Amour.

The ministers noted the significant progress made in the ongoing negotiations on a comprehensive free trade agreement between EFTA and Viet Nam and commended the achievements made towards concluding the negotiations. They reaffirmed their continued political support and instructed the negotiating teams to continue their work in the coming days with a view to finalising the steps necessary to conclude the agreement.

The ministerial conference also provided an opportunity to take stock of the latest developments within the EFTA free trade network. Furthermore, they called for efforts to be stepped up to modernise existing agreements with Canada and Mexico and to deepen dialogue with other strategically important partners and economic blocs. Participants at the ministerial conference discussed the state of relations between the EFTA states and their respective relations with the EU and touched on various horizontal issues.

On the fringes of the ministerial conference, an exchange of views also took place with the EFTA Parliamentary Committee and the EFTA Consultative Committee. Close and regular dialogue and consultations with these EFTA advisory bodies are intended to foster greater transparency in the free trade process.

President Parmelin was able to hold talks with Icelandic Prime Minister Kristrún Frostadóttir to discuss current European policy matters in the two countries. The Prime Minister provided information on the referendum to be held in Iceland in August on the resumption of accession negotiations with the EU. For his part, Mr Parmelin provided an update on the ongoing process and the status of parliamentary deliberations regarding the Switzerland–EU package. Other topics discussed included the current security and trade policy challenges facing the two EFTA states.