The embassy was officially launched on December 1, the anniversary of the day Iceland regained independence in 1918, public broadcaster Polish Radio’s IAR news agency reported.
Poland's Deputy Foreign Minister Arkadiusz Mularczyk and Iceland’s Foreign Minister Thórdís Kolbrún Reykfjörd Gylfadóttir cut the ribbon on the new diplomatic mission, which is based in Warsaw’s Focus building.
Poland's Foreign Minister Zbigniew Rau welcomed the move in a tweet, saying it "takes our partnership to another level."
‘New chapter in relations between our two friendly nations’
Iceland’s top diplomat told the media: “This is truly a day of celebration that marks a new chapter in the relations between our two friendly nations."
She added: "Poland is a key state in Europe and it’s important that we finally have reciprocity in our foreign relations.”
Poland opened its embassy to Iceland in 2013, the IAR news agency noted.
Energy, tourism, culture
Gylfadóttir added: “Even more important, however, are the possibilities created for increased cooperation now that we have also opened an embassy. These are in the fields of fisheries, energy and tourism, to name a few, and of course also in the field of art and culture.”
She also highlighted the potential for bilateral cooperation in security, defence and energy, and referred to the contributions of the Carmelite nuns in Hafnarfjörður to humanitarian and charitable causes in Iceland, the government in Reykjavík said in a statement.
The Icelandic foreign minister stated that the decision to open an embassy in Poland, which will also serve as Iceland’s diplomatic outpost to Ukraine, Bulgaria and Romania, had been made “in part due to the political situation and the situation in the region.”
Gylfadóttir added that Warsaw and Reykjavík already had strong ties, with more than 20,000 Poles living in Iceland, whose population totals 372,000.
Iceland’s first ambassador to Poland is Hannes Heimisson, officials told reporters.
The embassy maintains websites in Polish and English.
(pm/gs)
Source: IAR, government.is, icelandreview.com
Radio Poland's Michał Owczarek has this report.
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