Presentation at the opening of the Interprise in Iceland, September 19, 1996.
Ladies and Gentlemen,
I.
It is an honour to have the opportunity to welcome the participants of the Interprise meeting to Iceland. The purpose of this event is to enhance cooperation between small and medium sized companies in Iceland, Danmark, Germany and Great Britain in the field of fisheries, fish processing and the manufacture of equipment for these industries.
II.
I would like to tell you why it is so valuable for us Icelanders to host this meeting. These industries are of great importance to the Icelandic economy. Seafood accounts for almost 80% of Iceland's merchandise export. Annual catches in recent years have averaged around 1,5 million tons. In terms of catch volume, Iceland ranks fifteenth in the world. Fish from Iceland, caught in the fresh and unpolluted waters of the North Atlantic, has established a world-wide reputation for its quality. Fish products from Iceland have been actively marketed in the USA, Europe and Japan and enjoy a leading position at the top end of the market.
Intense research and development in all areas of fishing and fish processing is a major reason for Iceland's status as one of the most-advanced seafood producing nations today. Icelandic fisheries equipment and know-how have become important export catagories. Modern technology is employed in the fisheries and fish processing industry on a very high scale. Computers, electronics, quality management techniques and biotechnology are applied intensively, geared to the special needs of the industry.
III.
I would like to emphasize that small size can be an advantage in the competitive global market. Coming from an island with 270 thousand inhabitants, Icelandic companies are naturally not as visible as much larger corporations from other countries in the industrialised world. However, Icelandic companies are compact and flexible and some of them highly specialised. They have often developed their own tailormade solutions to many problems, often because advanced solutions from bigger societies have not been applicable. Many of these solutions are now being transferred by the companies to other small countries or small provinces around the globe.
As an example, I would like to name a few projects in the seafood sector that Icelanders are involved in around the world. Icelandic trawler operators have invested in two of Germany's biggest deep-sea trawler companies. In Kamchatka, the Asian part of Russia, an Icelandic company is modernising a fleet of 25 deep sea-trawlers, processing on land and marketing. The same company is a participant in a tecnical transfer joint-venture project in Namibia. So too are a joint venture with long-standing Icelandic participation in Chile and two in Mexico. Besides direct investment, Icelandic engineerint firms have designed and installed many processing plants around the world.
IV.
Cooperations and collaborations are extremely important for Icelandic companies. By working together, SMEs can take on projects which they could not possibly handle alone. With the Agreement on the European Economic Area the opportunity was opened for Icelandic companies to participate in the various programmes established by the EU in support of SMEs. Many of these programmes are designed to promote cooperation between enterprises. Experience has shown that the success of these programmes has usually been considerable.
I would again like to wish our foreign guests welcome to Iceland and wish theim a pleasant stay. I hope that Interprise in Iceland will prove an effective means for them to increase their cooperations with Icelandic companies.