On October 2, Ms. Katrín Jakobsdóttir, Prime Minister of Iceland, took interview with CCTV (China Media Group) in Reykjavik. Ms. Jakobsdóttir expressed warm congratulations to the 70th anniversary of the founding of the People's Republic of China, and answered questions on China-Iceland bilateral relations, cooperation against climate change and people to people exchanges between the two countries.
Ms. Jakobsdóttir said that the 70th anniversary was a milestone for China. She had followed the development in China in recent years, and it was moving at a very fast pace. On this special occasion, it was very important to use this milestone to contemplate the past and the future, and that was what Iceland was doing as well.
Ms. Jakobsdóttir pointed out that since the establishment of diplomatic ties in 1971, China and Iceland had maintained a very good relations of around 50 years. The two countries signed free trade agreement in 2013, which was the first free trade agreement signed between China and an European country, so it was well noted in the world. China and Iceland enjoyed good economic, trade and cultural relations, and it was hoped to see the continuation of such good relations in the future.
Ms. Jakobsdóttir expressed appreciation to the great efforts of China in addressing climate changes, and China and Iceland enjoyed broad prospects in this course. Iceland was willing to further strengthen cooperation with China on geothermal energy, science and innovation, to fight the global challenge of climate changes together.
Ms. Jakobsdóttir ended by stressing that people to people exchanges are important part of bilateral relations. It was very important for our peoples to know about different culture, history and politics, and enhance understanding of each other's country. She hoped to see more cultural and people to people exchanges between China and Iceland, and was happy to see more Chinese tourists to Iceland and vice versa.
CCTV has aired the interview with Prime Minister Katrín Jakobsdóttir on October 3, with online links as following:
http://tv.cctv.com/v/v1/VIDEQEPLEZzyyGINO5Nrwdj6191003.html