New Delhi, Sep 23 — Hailing ties between Iceland and India, Iceland's Ambassador to India Benedikt Hoskuldsson said that relations between the two nations have been significantly strengthened after the Trade and Economic Partnership Agreement (TEPA) signed between India and the European Free Trade Association (EFTA) countries.
In an interview with IANS, Hoskuldsson said that Iceland sees India as a "best friend" and the two nations stand shoulder to shoulder in the multilateral arena.
Asked how Iceland sees India, he said: "We see India as a best friend. My country has a population of less than 4 lakh people. So, we're very few. But we have always been an open society, and we like to travel. We want friendship through people-to-people contact, and that's an area where actually my embassy can do quite a bit more. Everywhere I go, everywhere I hear about Icelanders travelling to India, we are well received; we are treated very hospitably. So, we are very happy with it. So India is a friend of Iceland. And when we sit together in the multilateral arena, we always sit shoulder to shoulder. We've known India for a long time. India is our friend."
He said that Iceland would like to work with India on research in the Arctic and highlighted the similarities between the Arctic region and the Himalayan region. He also welcomed India's active research at Svalbard in the Arctic.
On how he sees India's engagement with the Arctic, he said: "We welcome India's activities in the Arctic, and the country's engagement with us as a founding Arctic nation. We would like to see the two countries work together on research in the Arctic, which could benefit not only the Arctic region but also your (India's) Himalayan region, because there are similarities between the two regions in that sense. We also welcome the fact that India is carrying out active research at Svalbard in the Arctic. All of this is important because this is really where we will feel, and we are already feeling the biggest climate change happening in the world."
He said that Iceland has decided not to resume talks on joining the European Union. However, he noted that Iceland is very integrated into the European system as it is part of the European Economic Area Agreement, the EU internal market, and the European labour market. He said that Iceland is also part of the free flow of finances, which implies that Iceland is free to invest in Europe and Europe is free to invest in Iceland.
Asked how important India is for Iceland's engagement with the Indo-Pacific, he responded, "India is very important. Iceland has historically had very good trading relations with Japan. Japan was, for the longest time, our second-largest seafood market. China has also been important in that sense. But we see the Indian market and the Indian economy really developing in the coming years, to be really one of the key components of our engagement and activities in Asia. So, India plays a significant role in that sense, but also in the politics of the world because India's political importance is growing along with its economy. We are also seeing changes taking place in the global trading system."
On how he assesses Prime Minister Narendra Modi's journey as he is set to complete 25 years in public service in the coming days, he said: "I'm not sure if I need to assess it, but what I have seen, having been engaged with India for a long time, is that I have never seen a country of the size of India going so fast in terms of its development and its positive economic growth. We see India's importance in terms of economics growing. We see it also growing in terms of geopolitics with the world as it is today. So, there is no other way than to assess that in a positive way."
PM Modi will complete 25 years in public service in October. He has served as the Prime Minister since May 26, 2014, being currently in his third term, making him the longest-serving elected Prime Minister of India. He was the Chief Minister of Gujarat from 2001 to 2014.
Hoskuldsson also welcomed the agreement between Denmark and the US, which would allow Washington to establish additional military bases in Greenland to support the Arctic. He affirmed Iceland's support for the people of Greenland.
"The news coming out of the United Nations General Assembly is that the United States and Denmark, or the Kingdom of Denmark, are signing an agreement under which the US will be able to establish additional military bases in Greenland to support the Arctic. So, I think that is welcome. Iceland stands with the Greenlanders. They are a sovereign nation that needs to have their own rights to determine their future, and they are part of the Kingdom of Denmark. We stand very clear on that, and so, there is no question about that. We welcome the agreement between Denmark and the United States that is to be signed."
US President Donald Trump said on Tuesday that the United States would build two major military bases in Greenland under an agreement giving Washington permanent control over security on the strategically located Arctic island.