From Ambassador (August in Reykjavik)

 In June and July, Reykjavik was blessed with some lovely sunny days with occasional bad weather. In the morning on a sunny weekend, I took a stroll to the lake Tjörnin in downtown with my wife. We found it peaceful and truly calming spending time there, where bright sunlight shines through in the crystal clear air in the middle of the city. When returning to our car, something caught my eye - it was a memorial note written on the stone plate about the donated cherry trees beside the lake by the Japan Iceland Society. Indeed, there were several cherry trees around. It was just by accident that I came across these cherry trees, but later I reliased that this is where the Hanami (cherry-blossom viewing) event is held every Spring that our Embassy also participates in. This year, however, the event was cancelled due to the spread of COVID-19.

Diplomatic activities gradually started again, and I invited guests including the Minister for Foreign Affairs and the Minister for Finance to my residence. I had an opportunity to dine with a member of the Parliament at a restaurant near the Parliament, where the tables were fully booked and people seemed less concerned about the coronavirus anymore. In July, face-to-face diplomacy became possible at a certain level except for assembly of a large number of people.

On the 25^th of June, I paid a courtesy call on H.E. Prime Minister Katrín Jakobsdóttir at the Prime Minister’s Office. With her characteristic smiles, she gave me an impression that she can quickly respond to any topics with her own view. The Prime Minister’s office, once used as a prison and a shelter, was a simple building with no guards around. I was amazed by the fact that the Prime Minister is so accessible in this country.

Merchants' Weekend is a three-day weekend between late July and early August where people appreciate the workers in the country. It is one of the biggest annual summer events in Iceland and various festive events take place in downtown every year. However, the government announced the new provisional two-week measures on the 31^st of July, the day before the first day of Merchants’Weekend and it further tightened the regulation on mass gatherings and opening hours of bars and restaurants. It was a last minute decision ahead of the big weekend, but the public received it as necessary measures to take. The inauguration of the President of Iceland had been planned at the Parliament on the 1^st of August and heads of diplomatic missions including myself were invited to the ceremony. However, we were informed on the day before that it was also cancelled and the number of participants to the ceremony was changed from 100 to only 25.

Being a small nation of 364,000 residents, Iceland is tasked with taking swift countermeasures to contain the spread of the virus. Supportive measures for economic reconstruction also needs to be implemented with courageous political decision, as these decisions could go back and forth depending on the situation. With no one really knowing what the best solution is, it must be a difficult time for policy makers to handle. I appraise Iceland for performing its own best in the fight against coronavirus.