Our Activity

2018/5/8

The first annual meeting of the Japanese-Icelandic Chamber of Commerce was held at the Ambassador‘s residence. Ambassador Kitagawa gave a welcoming speech to the members, followed by H.E. Mr. Guðlaugur Þór Þórðarson, Minister for Foreign Affairs of Iceland, who gave a speech on the achievement of the bilateral relations since the establishment of the Chamber, the importance of strengthening the bilateral relationships in the business field, and his scheduled trip to Japan in the end of this month. The meeting ended with a great success attended by many of the members of the Chamber and the governement officials.

Ambassador Kitagawa visited the HQ of the ICE-SAR (Icelandic Association For Search And Rescue). The ICE-SAR rescue teams, that mostly consist of volunteer staff, take seach and rescue operations all over the country in case of unexpected accidents and distress. With the increasing numbers of Japanese tourists and the consequent risk of accidents and distress also arising, further effort to strengthen the relationship between ICE-SAR and the Embassy was agreed.

Ambassador Kitagawa paid a courtesy call on H.E. Mr. Guðmundur Ingi Guðbrandsson, Minister for the Environment and Natural Resources, who took the position on the 30th of November 2017. Initiative to deepeen the bilateral relations in economic and business field was discussed, as well as further enhancing as well as further enhancing cooperation in the area of renewable energy and other environment related technologies.

Ambassador Kitagawa paid a courtesy call on Mr. Steingrímur J. Sigfússon, the Speaker of Alþingi, who took the position on the 14th of December 2017. After reconfirming the importance of the bilateral relations between the two countries, various topics and views were shared in the meeting, ranging from further facilitating interchanges between parliamentarians of both countries, trade, investment and cultural relations, to cultivating the cooperation in the field of geothermal energy and disaster prevention.

Ambassador Kitagawa paid a courtesy call on Ms. Áslaug Arna Sigurbjörnsdóttir, Chairman of the Foreign Affairs Committee of Alþingi, who took the position on the 12th of December 2017. Discussion went on to various topics and valuable views were shared during the meeting, including the business and cultural relationship between Japan and Iceland, and further fostering the amicable bilateral relations.

"Convention between Japan and Iceland for the Elimination of Double Taxation with respect to Taxes on Income and the Prevention of Tax Evasion and Avoidance" (Tax Convention between Japan and Iceland) was signed in Reykjavik by Mr. Yasuhiko Kitagawa, Ambassador of Japan to Iceland, and H.E. Mr. Guðlaugur Þór Þórðarson, Minister for Foreign Affairs of Iceland.
The Convention will enter into force after each country has completed its domestic procedure and an exchange of diplomatic notes.
It is expected that, while eliminating double taxation and preventing international tax evasion and tax avoidance, this Convention promotes further mutual investments and economic exchanges between the two countries. See below for further details.
https://www.mofa.go.jp/press/release/press4e_001867.html (MoFA of Japan)
https://www.mfa.is/news-and-publications/signing-of-a-tax-convention-between-iceland-and-japan (MFA of Iceland)