Iceland makes first state visit to Canada in 23 years
An Icelandic delegation visited Canada on the weekend, the first state visit in 23 years.
“Iceland and Canada have had strong ties since the first westerners headed to Canada about 150 years ago, and it is important to continue cultivating those ties,” Lilja Dogg Alfredsdottir, Iceland’s minister of Culture and Trade, said in a statement.
Alfredsdottir, visited Ottawa along with Iceland’s President Gudni Th. Johannesson, First Lady Eliza Reid and a delegation.
A statement on the Government of Iceland website described the goal of the visit was to “strengthen the multifaceted ties between the countries.”
Working together to save a language can help preserve a culture.#GGSimon and President Jóhannesson were joined by Canadian and Icelandic representatives to discuss the importance of safeguarding languages through promotion and preservation. pic.twitter.com/dGZhhBeVFp
— Governor General of Canada (@GGCanada) May 29, 2023
The delegation met with both Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau as well as Canada’s Governor General Mary Simon.
Culture, language, the 150th anniversary of migration from Iceland to Canada, and the Arctic Arts Summit, to be held in the arctic Icelandic city of Akureyri in 2024, where among the topics discussed.
Write to Eilís at eilis.quinn@cbc.ca
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