President and Foreign Minister in Vietnam

Iceland’s President and Foreign Minister are currently on an official visit to Vietnam and met Vietnamese Foreign Minister, Phạm Bình Minh, today.

Icelandic Foreign Minister Gunnar Bragi Sveinsson discussed with his Vietnamese counterpart the various possiblities for strengthening ties and bolstering trade between the two countries.

According to the Icelandic Foreign Ministry, Hanoi is keen to speed up free-trade talks with European Free Trade Area (EFTA) Member States. These talks are reportedly already at an advanced stage.

The two ministers discussed other topics as diverse as marine law, human rights and gender equality, and the possibility of scrapping visa requirements for Icelandic nationals travelling to Vietnam.

The meeting concluded with the signing of an agreement with the Vietnamese Trade and Industry Minister on Icelandic-Vietnamese cooperation in geothermal energy.