A visit to the Shanghai Institute for International Studies

The Ambassador, Thorir Ibsen, accompanied by DHoM, William Freyr Huntingdon-Williams and Trade Representative, Petur Yang, visited the Shanghai Institute for International Studies, where they were received by Mr. Yang Jian, Vice Director General, and his team at the Institute. Mr. Yang has previously worked closely with Icelandic researcher in the field of Arctic research.
This time the discussion was focused on matters concerning scientific cooperation between China and Iceland on a wide array of subject matters such the Arctic, climate change, geothermal energy, and carbon emission reduction.

Iceland and China have enjoyed fruitful cooperation on Arctic science since the first China-Iceland Arctic science seminar was hosted in Reykjavík, August 2011. The bilateral Framework Agreement on Arctic Cooperation signed in Reykjavík April 2012 has seen tangible results, including the visit of icebreaker R/V Xuelong´s to Iceland in August 2012; SIIS, PRIC and Rannís were founding members with of the China-Nordic Arctic Research Center (CNARC) in December 2013 and the opening of the China-Iceland Arctic Science Observatory, with a focus on Aurora observation from Northeast of Iceland, took place in October 2018. For the two countries, there are many opportunities regarding constructive international Arctic science cooperation including common issues on sustainable development and climate change.