Prime ministers from Finland, Sweden, Denmark, Norway and Iceland arrived in Egilsstaðir yesterday and engaged in talks, focusing mostly on the economy.
The PM’s and their entourages stayed at the Gistihús Egilsstöðum – a large converted farm house – while the meeting itself was held in the basement of the Hótel Hérað. Among the guests was former Icelandic Prime Minister and current director of the Nordic ministers committee Halldór Ásgrímsson.
The Prime Ministers had met previously this year, at the Blue Lagoon in February, where then the focus was on the environment. This time around, much of the discussion revolved around the economy.
Prime Minister Jóhanna Sigurðardóttir told reporters at a press conference today that among other things, they examined economic regulations to see how they can prevent the mistakes which led to the economic crash of last fall from repeating themselves. In addition, they discussed the finer details of a loan package destined for Iceland to help us through our own troubles, as Iceland was the hardest hit of the Nordic countries.
The Prime Ministers will embark on a tour of east Iceland before heading back to their respective countries later today.