Ambassador of Iceland visits Krakow
On Monday 17 December 2012 Jacek Majchrowski, Mayor of the City of Krakow, met with HE Gunnar Snorri Gunnarsson Ambassador of the Republic of Iceland. The first visit of His Excellency to our city was connected with the appointment of Janusz Kahl to the position of Honorary Consul of Iceland in Krakow.
Ambassador Gunnarsson resides in the capital of Germany. The jurisdiction of the Embassy of Iceland in Berlin includes Germany, Croatia, Poland, Serbia and Montenegro. During his meeting with Mayor Jacek Majchrowski, as well as during the opening ceremony of the Consulate of Iceland in Krakow held on the same day at the Nordic House Business and Culture Center the Ambassador emphasized that the relations between Poland and Iceland have been developing very rapidly in recent years. This is related to a large number of Polish citizens working and settling in Iceland (the Polish diaspora is the largest foreign community in this country). Among others a large number of Polish immigrants have made a positive impact on the development of Catholic Church in Iceland – since then the congregation doubled. Ambassador Gunnarsson also expressed his gratitude for the fact that during the first wave of economic crisis in Iceland Poland – next to the Nordic countries and International Monetary Fund – was one of the countries which granted Iceland substantial support. It is also due to this support that Iceland is gradually overcoming the crisis and paying its debts.
The opening ceremony at the consulate was attended by Krakow officials: Mayor of the City, representatives of the City Council, authorities of the Małopolska Region and representatives of the Krakow diplomatic corps. The national anthem of Iceland, reproduced during the ceremony, was one of the rare opportunities to hear Icelandic in Krakow.
The new Consulate of Iceland will operate at the well known address: ul. św. Anny 5. It is the second, after the one in Grańsk, consulate of this country in Poland. Mr. Janusz Kahl holds the positions of Honorary Consul of Sweden, Finland and Denmark. He is also president of the Nordic House Business and Culture Center in Krakow which aims at developing the interregional cooperation between the Nordic states and Southern Poland by promoting business contacts as well as tourism and culture.
