1 / 19

International Cooperation and Political Dialogue

International Cooperation and Political Dialogue. Screening Iceland Chapter 31, Foreign, Security and Defence Policy – Bilateral Brussels, 20 May 2011. International Organisations.

cate
Télécharger la présentation

International Cooperation and Political Dialogue

An Image/Link below is provided (as is) to download presentation Download Policy: Content on the Website is provided to you AS IS for your information and personal use and may not be sold / licensed / shared on other websites without getting consent from its author. Content is provided to you AS IS for your information and personal use only. Download presentation by click this link. While downloading, if for some reason you are not able to download a presentation, the publisher may have deleted the file from their server. During download, if you can't get a presentation, the file might be deleted by the publisher.

E N D

Presentation Transcript

  1. International Cooperation and Political Dialogue Screening Iceland Chapter 31, Foreign, Security and Defence Policy – Bilateral Brussels, 20 May 2011

  2. International Organisations • Since the foundation of the Republic of Iceland the promotion of fundamental human rights and freedoms, the rule of law, social justice and respect for established norms of international law have been central to Iceland’s foreign policy • Active and committed member of the United Nations since 1946 • Founding member of the IMF and IBRD in 1945 • Founding member of the North Atlantic Treaty Organisation (NATO) in 1949

  3. International Organisations • Founding member of OEEC (OECD) in 1947 • Joined the Council of Europe in 1950 • Iceland has participated in the OSCE since its establishment

  4. Nordic Cooperation • Nordic cooperation a key pillar of Icelandic foreign policy • Nordic Council in 1952

  5. Regional Cooperation • Regional cooperation is an important feature of Icelandic foreign policy. Iceland participates actively in regional organisations in the Northern regions of Europe; • Council of Baltic Sea States (CBSS) • The Arctic Council • Barents Euro-Arctic Council (BEAC) • Iceland participates in the Northern dimension with the EU, Russia and Norway • Iceland cooperates closely with Greenland and the Faroe Islands, including through the West-Nordic Council

  6. EU Alignments • Iceland has continuously aligned itself, where invited, with EU declarations, demarches and common positions

  7. Neighbouring Non-EU Countries • Norway • Political dialogue between Iceland and Norway is extensive. Both countries are members of the various institutions and venues of Nordic cooperation, such as the Nordic Council, the Nordic Council of Ministers and the Nordic Investment Bank. • The cooperation includes regular meetings of the Nordic Foreign Ministers, Permanent Secretaries and Political Directors. Both countries are members of the EEA, Schengen and EFTA which entails political dialogue both bilaterally and multilaterally. • In 2007 Norway and Iceland signed a bilateral MOU on “Cooperation in the Field of Security, Defence and Preparedness”.

  8. Western Balkans • Iceland enjoys very good bilateral relations with Croatia, Bosnia and Herzegovina, Serbia and the Former Yugoslav Republic of Macedonia • Political discussions take place on an ad hoc basis • Iceland recognized the independence of Kosovo on 5 March 2008

  9. European Neighbourhood Policy • Political discussions between Iceland and the countries covered by the European Neighbourhood Policy take place on an ad hoc basis

  10. Euro-Mediterranean Partnership • Political discussions between Iceland and the countries of the Euro-Mediterranean Partnership take place on an ad hoc basis • Iceland takes part in the Mediterranean Dialogue in NATO that includes many of the countries of the Euro-Mediterranean Partnership

  11. United States of America • Iceland and the United States established diplomatic relations in 1941 • Regular consultations (usually referred to as the “Strategic Dialogue”) on issues pertaining to the political, security and defence relations • These consultations have been conducted both at a senior/ministerial level and expert level annually • In addition to these bilateral consultations, Iceland participates in the Enhanced Partnership in Northern Europe (e-PINE) • Includes in addition to Iceland, the United States, Denmark, Estonia, Finland, Latvia, Lithuania, Norway and Sweden (US + NB8) • E-PINE provides a forum for regular consultations (twice a year) between the political directors of the NB8 Countries and senior officials on political and security issues

  12. Canada • Iceland and Canada established diplomatic relations in 1947 • Political dialogue takes place on an ad hoc basis • Iceland opened a consulate general in Winnipeg in 1999 and an embassy in Ottawa in 2001

  13. Russia • Iceland and Russia established diplomatic relations in 1943 • Political discussions between Iceland and Russia take place regularly • Economic cooperation, trade and fisheries are also of key importance. • In recent years there have been meetings at the level of ministers, deputy ministers or permanent secretaries of state and directors of departments or directorates • Ministers have also met in the margins of international conferences or meetings of international organisations

  14. China • Iceland and China established diplomatic relations in December 1971 • Political dialogue takes place on an ad hoc basis • China opened an embassy in Reykjavík in 1972 • Iceland opened an embassy in Beijing in 1995 • Numerous high level visits have taken place between the two countries at presidential and ministerial level in recent years

  15. Japan • Diplomatic relations between Iceland and Japan were established in 1956 • Relations were strengthened with the establishment of embassies in their respective capitals in 2001 • The two states have since 2006 established a regular political dialogue. • Such an annual dialogue is also, but separately, conducted on economic issues • Iceland and Japan have built up close cooperation on many international issues, in particular, within the United Nations and on marine policy • Numerous high level visits have taken place between the two countries at ministerial level in recent years

  16. India • Iceland and India established diplomatic relations in 1972 • Political dialogue takes place on ad hoc basis • Cooperation between Iceland and India has been considerably enhanced by the opening of an embassy of Iceland in New Delhi in 2006 and an embassy of India in Reykjavik in 2008 • Numerous high level visits have taken place between the two countries at presidential and ministerial level in recent years

  17. Turkey • Iceland and Turkey have very good bilateral relations • Political discussions take place on an ad hoc basis

  18. Africa, the Caribbean and the Pacific • The regular political dialogue Iceland has with these groups of states is with ten African states, through the annual Nordic - African Ministerial Meeting • Benin, Botswana, Ghana, Lesotho, Mali, Mozambique, Nigeria, Senegal, South Africa and Tanzania

  19. Ministry for Foreign Affairshttp://www.mfa.is EU ApplicationWebsitehttp://europe.mfa.is/

More Related