The ocean-related emphasis in the Icelandic Presidency - Good Roads - in the Nordic Council of Ministers was formally launched last week when the inaugural meeting of the project was held in Matís.
The issue of the ocean and the blue bioeconomy is at the forefront during Iceland's presidency of the Nordic Council of Ministers this year. Under the emphasis - The sea, blue growth in the north - are defined three projects that Iceland places special emphasis on in this presidency plan, but they are Nordmar Hafnir, on ports as centers of innovation and energy exchange, NordMar Plast, on solutions to the threat that plastic in the oceans poses to the ecosystem and our livelihoods and NordMar Lífiðjuver, about the possibilities inherent in the blue bioeconomy and the full utilization of raw materials and the processing of increasingly valuable products from marine resources.
These projects were formally launched on Thursday last week at the inaugural meeting of Hafsinn - blue growth in the north, which was held in Matís. Geir Oddson, an expert in the Nordic Department of the Ministry for Foreign Affairs, opened the meeting with a presentation of the presidency program, followed by presentations on each project. Hrönn Jörundsdóttir from Matís leads NordMar Plast, Bryndís Björnsdóttir leads NordMar Lífiðjuver and Jákup Sørensen from the Nordic-Atlantic Partnership (NORA) leads NordMar Hafnir.
In the afternoon, the groups met separately to review work processes and work packages, and participants had the opportunity to get to know each other and exchange ideas regarding the projects.