"Just hope nobody gets seasick"
Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau (L) and Icelandic Prime Minister Katrin Jakobsdottir shake hands as they arrive for the Nordic Prime Ministers Annual Meeting on Vestmannaeyjar Island on June 25, 2023. From June 25-26, Iceland hosts the annual summer meeting of the Nordic Prime Ministers in Vestmannaeyjar, Iceland, with the Canadian Prime Minister as a special guest. Leaders of the Aland Islands, the Faroe Islands and Greenland are also expected to attend. (Photo by Halldor KOLBEINS / AFP) AFP
Prime Minister Katrín Jakobsdóttir says it was safer, as well as more environmentally friendly, to sail with the Prime Minister of the Nordic countries and Canada to the Westman Islands. The Prime Ministers arrived in Herjólfur ferry to the islands Sunday evening.
The annual summer meeting of the Nordic Ministers’ Committee takes place in the Westman Islands today and tomorrow, with Canada as the special guest of the meeting. Jakobsdóttir had a bilateral meeting with Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau this evening at the town hall in the Westman Islands.
“It was my decision to invite the Canadian Prime Minister to come along. Then, specifically – to discuss issues we have in common with Canada, such as issues of the Nordic nations and the Arctic. Of course, the security and defense situation will be discussed. We also share other issues with the Canadians, as in certain social values. We will discuss transnational cooperation, the status of democracy and human rights. And what we call the enduring power of democratic societies in a time when the challenges have increased. “The climate, biodiversity, the sea,” Jakobsdóttir tells mbl.is aboard the Herjólfur ferry on her way to the Westman Islands.
Seen over the Westman Islands. mbl.is/Árni Sæberg
50 Years Since the volcanic eruption
Iceland holds the Council’s chairmanship for a year, so the meeting will take place here. The Westman Islands were chosen because this year marks 50 years since the volcanic eruption in Heimaey.
“In the reconstruction of the islands, the Nordic nations came together with great assistance. So this is an example of Nordic cooperation in its most beautiful form, and the importance of societies developing this resilience in the face of natural disasters or war. That is why I thought that the Westman Islands, despite the voyage, was a most appropriate place for us. I just hope no one gets seasick,” she said.
Aboard the Herjólfur ferry, there were special treats for the ministers, and all the ministers were allowed to check in with the captain who sailed to the Westman Islands from Landeyjarhöfn harbour.
Despite the fact that the water had been good, however, the journalist failed to fulfill the hopes of the Prime Minister, who offered a coke as a remedy for the seasickness.
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