On Thanksgiving Day, Investable Universe spoke (remotely) with Iceland’s Foreign Minister Guðlaugur Þór Þórðarson in connection with the upcoming “How Do I Invest in Iceland?” expo produced by Promote Iceland and the Icelandic Trade Consulate in New York. Foreign Minister Þórðarson has held his current government post since 2017, having previously served as minister of Health and Social Security from 2007-2009. He was formerly chairman of Iceland’s Independence Party parliamentary group and has served in Iceland’s parliament, the AlÞingi, as a representative of Reykjavik’s northern and southern constituencies and as a member of the Committees for Foreign Affairs, Economic Affairs, Trade, Health, Environment and Budget.
The following is a brief excerpt of the conversation, edited for length and clarity.
Investable Universe: Mr. Foreign Minister, earlier this year, you addressed the UN General Assembly remotely and remarked on the parallels of the covid-19 crisis with the aftermath of World War Two, when the U.N. was created. And you pointed to the precedent of nations working cooperatively to emerge stronger from crisis. How is Iceland currently contributing to the global recovery effort from covid?
Guðlaugur Þór Þórðarson: First of all, I think this is a perfect example of how we need to work together. It makes no difference even [if] part of the world [were to be] very successful [at controlling the virus]…And what we have done [is to] take part in humanitarian cooperation [at the] multilateral level, [such as] the U.N. and other forums, saying that when it comes to the vaccine, we are contributing because we know it needs to go everywhere. It doesn’t need only to be in Iceland even though, of course, we try to protect our people. And of course we are looking [toward] the future. There will be a time after covid. And it’s really important [to] emphasize with our Nordic friends and other countries…that we build back better and greener. At the same time, we are totally aware…[that] unfortunately, this is an actual [economic as well as health] crisis….We are going to see people hungry, we will see serious crisis and we need to address that. At the same time, we are doing everything we can, fighting it in our own country, and using the U.N. organizations and all the multilateral organizations to work with them, to do what we can to build for the future to address this acute crisis. And we are totally aware we are that we need to do this with others. We can’t do it alone.
Investable Universe: Many have talked about the post covid recovery period as a great reset, and that this is an opportunity to make sweeping, more radical or fundamental changes specifically in the area of environmental sustainability. So what does that entail from Iceland’s perspective?
Guðlaugur Þór Þórðarson: Regardless of covid, we would have needed to take on that task. Maybe we’ll look back and see [that there was on] opportunity in this crisis that we used…Iceland has a story to tell [about experience with] geothermal heating. If everyone would use the opportunity for geothermal heating, then the climate problem would be out of the way. And we did this [back] in the [19]30s and 40s. If you come to Iceland, then you will see that when it comes electricity, all the heating of the houses, is 100 percent renewable. And we are helping others. And for example, [Iceland] used to have the largest geothermal heating in the world; it’s now China.
Investable Universe: Wow.
Guðlaugur Þór Þórðarson: But most important is sustainability when it comes to nature, and [specifically] fisheries. Iceland is all about sustainability…We are a fishing nation, an island, and if we are not sustainable when it comes to our natural resources, then it would be very tough to live in Iceland…We have made a lot of mistakes and it’s important that that people learn from others’ mistakes…[During] my childhood, [commercial fishing] was all about the fish filet, and it was about catching as much fish as quickly as possible. I’m not saying the filet is a byproduct now, but we have gone from only using the fish filet into total utilization of the fish. It means that, for example, that the fish skins are used for healing burn wounds.
Investable Universe: That’s right. One of your key startups [Kerecis] is exactly that.
Guðlaugur Þór Þórðarson: What used to be pollution, like the shells of the ships which are poured into the harbors and the total nuisance and the pollution, it’s now used for making pharmaceuticals and food supplements. And the same with the bones and other parts of fish. And I’m not talking down fishing–it’s a very important [industry]. It’s also a high tech industry and the R&D is definitely a driving factor. So this is something that we realized long time ago that we have been quite successful with. And there are enormous opportunities all around the world when it comes to this.
Investable Universe: Commercial fishing is a major employer in Iceland. Do you see any tension between those two objectives: being sustainable as possible and protecting or creating as many jobs for Icelandic citizens as possible?
Guðlaugur Þór Þórðarson No, no, not really. What has happened in the last few decades, I mean, in the 70s, probably 20, 30 percent of the workforce was working for the fisheries and aquaculture, four percent now. Is it a bad thing? No, it’s not a bad thing. It means that you have other jobs. And I think, of course, people are different. And I respect everything that more people will want to do. But I think that at least for the young people, it’s more attractive working with R&D when it comes to utilizing and getting more valuable products from the fish, than these traditional jobs which are more or less no longer there.
Investable Universe: Are there any new and investable technologies that Iceland is currently exporting that you can share with us or any particularly promising technologies where Iceland is looking for international partners?
Guðlaugur Þór Þórðarson: We’re making sure we have opportunities when it comes to hydrogen and other things. When it comes to energy, we do not have what people usually think [of] when they think about energy as a fossil fuel. We do not have that. We have geothermal. We have hydro…We are made for data centers [ed: which require energy for cooling]. Sometimes it’s good to be cold. We are called Iceland for a reason.
Investable Universe: Have how many data centers does Iceland currently have? Not enough?
Guðlaugur Þór Þórðarson: I cannot tell the numbers. But, you know, when you have the renewable energy, well-educated workforce and then you have the cold, so you don’t need as much energy because it’s quite a lot about keeping it [data centers] cooled down.
Investable Universe: And you have submarine cables, right?
Guðlaugur Þór Þórðarson: Oh, yes. We actually are going to make the connections better…In a couple of years, we will have even more and safer and secure connections. So this is one of the opportunities. But when it comes to energy, when you think about the R&D, the opportunities are endless…The same goes with fisheries. If you just look at what we’ve been doing, then I can assure you that cooperating with Icelandic companies in that field is a great opportunity.
Investable Universe: So Iceland is a seafaring nation. It’s a country that depends heavily on its maritime exposure for its economic growth. What role does Iceland play in safeguarding the [maritime] legal framework?What challenges do you see possibly emerging in the coming years?
Guðlaugur Þór Þórðarson: Well, there’s a lot of challenges. We look at ourselves as a guardian of the sea. We know the importance [of the] sea [remaining] unpolluted, see the importance of sustainable use. Understand [that for] every day that you overfish and you’re not using a sustainable way, [at some point], you can never go back…So the UNCLOS (U.N. Charter on the International Law of the Sea) is essential. But we face a lot of challenges. We are going to see [fishing] stocks move because of climate change. We also see new technologies [emerging] that we can harness in more places that we do now. And if we do not do it in a proper way, we will see very harsh results, which will affect all of us.
Investable Universe: Iceland is currently chairing the Arctic Council, and that’s a region that is increasingly assuming geopolitical strategic importance. There’s a lot of speculation that that the Arctic region is going to be opening up more and that’s going to be contested by multiple large countries. Can you discuss Icelandic policy initiatives on the council and what challenges, whether these are investment challenges or simply geopolitical challenges or opportunities may arise?
Gudlaugur Thor Thordarsson: The Arctic has, so far, been a low tension area. And we want to keep it that way. But then again, sustainability is the key. It’s not only sustainability when it comes to the environment or the nature. It’s also [to do] with social sustainability and economic sustainability. We have four million people living in the Arctic, and it’s very important that no action or decisions are taken without their support, or that they should be the ones who are taking the decision.
Investable Universe: There’s a very clear legislation in place that will affect Russia, China, the United States, all the players with an interest.
Gudlaugur Thor Thordarsson: Yes, it’s UNCLOS…And that’s important that we we also have an international system…I think it’s very important that we, the ones who are agree on common values, [on] which we based our international and multilateral system on, that we try to guard it, because we will have problems if that is not the cornerstone of international cooperation.
