Hátíðarræða á viðskiptakynningu í London, 31. október 1996.
Ladies and gentlemen!
I am delighted to be here tonight for the Iceland Day Celabrations and to have the opportunity to adress you. Tonight I would like to outline my thoughts on Iceland's position changing world and on some of our universal human values.
With a new millenium only a few years off, we are increasingly focusing on the future and how our economies will be doing in the new age. It seems that the world economy is becoming increasingly global and it may well be that in the future success will only come to those countries able to meet global standards.
A few years of stagnation drove Icelandic managers and entrepreneurs to rethink and look beyond traditional boundaries. We have had some clear signs of favourable results and there are more to come.
A decade ago when we started linking up computer systems there were various systems in use. Soon we aquired valuable expertise to link them - to build bridges. Now different technologies around the world are being linked up and our expertise in bridgebuilding has become marketable worldwide, resulting in a flourishing software industry propelled forward by exports.
The information industry has moved Iceland from the fringes of Europe to the very centre. Distances are irrelevant in this global culture.
High level of education
In the future full employment in Iceland will depend on our expertise being marketed worldwide, which in turn rests on a high level of education and specialised skills.
In the fields of fisheries, hydroelectric power and geothermal utilization Icelandic know-how has been internationally recognised for decades. Our expertise in telecommunications and software is not, as yet, universally recognised. According to international surveys, we are one of the most computerliterate nations in the world and the utilisation of the Internet is relatively more widespread in Iceland than anywhere else.
The Icelandic economy has been diversifying rapidly. We have a great potential for economic development and prosperity. We are competitive and well able to face the challenges of the global market.
Iceland has indeed come a long way from its colonial past.
Strong ties to the United Kingdom
As you may be aware, Iceland was under Danish rule for centuries and needless to say very isolated. During the Napoleonic wars Iceland was completely cut off from Denmark which could not provide necessities such as grain, salt, iron, coal and timber. There was famine in the country. The shipping routes with the outside world were totally controlled by British warships and trading ships. It was, nevertheless, British grain that saved the Icelandic population from starvation.
John Steuart Mackenzie, who visited Iceland during this critical period, translated the following from Icelandic and made it the epitaph of his book, "Travel In the Island of Iceland"
"When the Danes shall have stripped
off our shirts, the English will clothe
us anew"
We now know that we had no reason to blame the Danes. But it is equally true that the British saved the day. Unfortunately we didn't have much to offer at that time, but today there are many investment opportunities, from which both nations could benefit and you are still most welcome!
At peace with untamed nature
Despite modern technology and high levels of specilaised skills we are often quite helpless against Iceland's untamed nature. We were reminded of this only a few weeks ago when a volcano buried beneath a vast glacier erupted. The volcanic fires can strike at the root of our very existence every day. Since we have to live with natural hazards, perhaps it is better that our scientists cannot always predict how nature will behave. As written in Hávamál, one of the most famous Eddaic poems from a thousand years ago:
"A man's fate
should be firmly hidden
to preserve his peace of mind".
The ethics of Hávamál are above all rooted in belief in the value of the individual, who is however not alone in the world but tied by strong bonds to nature and society. Against this background we have learned to live in peace with nature. We have managed to harvest it in a productive way - even its volcanic activity. Natures geothermal water heats our houses, provides electrical power and has even enabled us to grow tropical fruits - the Times of London claims that we are responsible for Europes greatest output of bananas, - thanks to geyser heated hothouses.
The vikings believed that each individual had to create a life for himself from his own resources but in harmony with society and nature. Again their message is no less immediate to us, that mainly have based our livelihood on fishing, than it was a thousand years ago.
I mentioned earlier that we have achieved favourable results in linking ourselves to the global economy. There is increased interest in inward foreign investment that is a recognition to our enterprise culture, and our modern industries have proved globally competitive. Success feeds further success but we cannot afford to be complacent - we must continue to enhance our competitive advantage.
Ladies and gentlemen, in conclusion, I am honoured to propose a toast to further Anglo-Icelandic business co-operation.