Albares and his Icelandic counterpart inaugurate Iceland’s first Embassy in Madrid this Monday

Eduardo González The Minister of Foreign Affairs, José Manuel Albares, and the Icelandic Minister of Foreign Affairs and Defense, Þorgerður Katrín Gunnarsdóttir, will preside over the inauguration of Iceland's first Embassy in Madrid this Monday. The main event will take place at the Ministry headquarters in the Palacio de Santa Cruz, nearly three months after the new ambassador, Kristján Andri Stefánsson, presented the Copies of Credentials at the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and his Letters of Credence to King Felipe VI at the Royal Palace of Madrid. Kristján Andri Stefánsson is the first Icelandic ambassador to Spain in more than 75 years of diplomatic relations. The two countries formally established diplomatic relations in November 1949, but until now, there had not been an ambassador from the Nordic country in Madrid. Iceland's representation in Spain was previously handled through its embassy in Paris. In fact, Kristján Andri Stefánsson himself was formerly the non-resident ambassador to Spain, based at the embassy in France. Spain's representation in Iceland is handled by the ambassador to Norway, Alejandra del Río, although since June 2019, Spain has maintained a diplomatic outpost in Reykjavík. Despite the opening of the new Icelandic embassy in Madrid, the Spanish government currently has no intention of upgrading the existing diplomatic outpost to an embassy, according to sources close to the matter who spoke to The Diplomat. Until now, Iceland was the only NATO member without an embassy in Spain. In a memorandum, the Icelandic Ministry of Foreign Affairs had emphasized in 2024 the need for a resident embassy in Spain, “the fourth most populous country in the European Union and a heavyweight in all the work of the European Union,” as well as a “key NATO member” that “has a strategic role to play due to its location in the Mediterranean and Africa” and its “historical relationship” with Latin America. On June 24, 2024, the Icelandic Parliament approved the opening of the Icelandic Embassy in Madrid in 2025. The proposal took into account the high number of Icelanders who have permanent residence in Spain for both long and short periods and the strong flow of tourists throughout the year. It is estimated that some 3,500 Icelanders have permanent residence in Spain and that nearly 100,000 Icelandic tourists visit our country each year (25% of the Icelandic population). A significant group is made up of middle-aged people, who often extend their stay in Spain into the winter. Currently, eight cities in Spain have direct flights to Iceland, making it the European country with the most air connections to Iceland. Another factor taken into account, according to the Icelandic government, is trade between the two countries. Exports of goods from Iceland to Spain have increased steadily over the last decade, particularly aluminum, fish, and mollusks and crustaceans from Iceland. According to the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, Spain's trade balance with Iceland is in deficit, but the difference narrowed between 2022 and 2023 due to the increase in Spanish exports to Iceland. Trade relations between Iceland and Spain are framed within the European Economic Area (EEA) Agreement, which applies to the 27 EU countries and three member states of the European Free Trade Association: Iceland, Liechtenstein, and Norway. Albares and Þorgerður Katrín Gunnarsdóttir held their first meeting in Madrid on March 25, where they discussed the upcoming opening of an Icelandic embassy in Madrid. The minister also met in July 2024, during the NATO summit in Washington, with his then Icelandic counterpart, Thordis Kolbrun, with whom he also discussed the opening of the Icelandic embassy in Madrid.

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