Luxembourg and Iceland share close bilateral relations based on longstanding ties between the two governments, economies and peoples. Today's bilateral meeting between Prime minister Bettel and Prime minister Jakobsdóttir in Luxembourg allowed them to follow up after an earlier meeting in May this year in Reykjavik at the margins of the Council of Europe Summit.
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(fr. l. to r.) Katrín Jakobsdóttir, Prime Minister of Iceland ; Xavier Bettel, Prime Minister, Minister of State
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(fr. l. to r.) Katrín Jakobsdóttir, Prime Minister of Iceland ; Xavier Bettel, Prime Minister, Minister of State
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(fr. l. to r.) Xavier Bettel, Prime Minister, Minister of State ; Katrín Jakobsdóttir, Prime Minister of Iceland ; Taina Bofferding, Minister of Equality between Women and Men
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Group photo
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(fr. l. to r.) Xavier Bettel, Prime Minister, Minister of State; Katrín Jakobsdóttir, Prime Minister of Iceland
The Prime ministers had a good exchange regarding the further strengthening of bilateral relations, the close ties within the European Economic Area, international security matters including continued support for Ukraine, and the need for stronger climate action. As natural partners, Luxembourg and Iceland share a common ambition of building a stronger, safer, greener, more competitive and a more prosperous Europe, based on the fundamental values of human rights, democracy and the rule of law. The Prime ministers shared serious concerns because of the backlash on gender equality and minority rights, including those of LGBTI persons around the world and stressed the need to reinforce the implementation of SDG5 to achieve gender equality and empower all women and girls. During their meeting, which was also attended by Taina Bofferding, Minister of Equality between Women and Men, the ministers also exchanged on combating gender-based violence and eliminating the gender gap.
While several bilateral agreements already structure the relations between the two countries, it was agreed during the meeting to pursue a deeper cooperation particularly in the education and cultural/audiovisual sectors. As such, the exchanges between the universities of Luxembourg and Iceland will be deepened. The Prime ministers welcomed the signing of a Letter of intent between the Center for small state studies of the University of Reykjavik and the University of Luxembourg on 4. September, which encourages the exchange of faculty, staff, students, academic materials and information, as well as the development of joint research activities. Furthermore, there is strong willingness to reinforce bilateral ties in the cultural sector and in the field of creative industries. The Prime ministers appreciated ongoing deliberations to finalize a bilateral audiovisual co-production treaty between the two countries in the coming six months, aimed at strengthening cooperation on audiovisual productions. Finally, they discussed ways to increase people-to-people contact between Iceland and Luxembourg.
Luxembourg and Iceland thus reaffirm their commitment to a continuous strengthening of their bilateral ties.
Press release by the ministry of State