Ávarp v. Evrópuverkefnisins "Bonus-Ortho" 03.03.00.
Valgerður Sverrisdóttir,
iðnaðar- og viðskiptaráðherra.
Ávarp
vegna Evrópuverkefnisins BONUS-ORTHO
á Hallveigarstíg 1, 3. mars 2000.
vegna Evrópuverkefnisins BONUS-ORTHO
á Hallveigarstíg 1, 3. mars 2000.
Ladies and gentlemen,
Dear BONUS-ORTHO participants
I am very pleased to have the honour of make the opening remarks at this kick-off meeting of the project BONUS-ORTHO. The active participation of Icelandic companies and institutions in international co-operation projects is an important part of keeping Icelandic society competitive compared to other OECD countries.
It also gives me great pleasure of welcoming the foreign guests that have come here to Iceland because of this meeting. (I heard that you RESEARCHED the Blue Lagoon yesterday and gained an valuable insight into the steamy part of the Icelandic society!)
My ministry has been following the research and development work by Mr. Kolbeinn Gíslason and his company Stodtaekni for a while and we are very enthusiastic about his ideas. It is also good to see that the University of Iceland is a partner in this project because we think that a link between an SME and the University is a key to the future of Icelandic society. The University needs the ties to the business community to be aware of the trends in society. And the companies need the academic research potential of the University staff to be able to prepare for the future.
Iceland gained access to the research and development programmes of the European Commission trough the European Economic Area agreement in 1994. This link to Europe has proven very important and this cooperation is slowly revolutionising the research opportunities of Icelandic companies and institutions.
I would specially like to thank the European Commission for its support of R&D work done here in Iceland. I hope that Mrs. Roberta Salonna, the EU representative here , will relay our wishes back to Brussels.
I hope that the BONUS-ORTHO project will be a valuable addition to the important research work performed within the European R&D framework.
Wishing you all a very good and fruitful meeting here in Iceland.