This article covers diplomatic relations between India and Iceland: their establishment, State and ministerial visits, summit meetings, Foreign Office Consultations and the agreements the two countries have signed. It is based on the MEA brief of May 2026, the bilateral brief on India-Iceland relations published by India's Ministry of External Affairs (MEA).

Establishment of relations

According to the MEA brief of May 2026, India and Iceland established diplomatic relations in 1972. The brief states that, despite the asymmetry in size and population, bilateral ties are underpinned by shared values of democracy, equality, human rights and rule of law.

Iceland has supported India's candidature for a permanent membership of an expanded UN Security Council. The brief adds that Iceland has been largely supportive of India's candidatures at the UN and other international organisations.

State visits

  • President Dr. A.P.J. Abdul Kalam paid a State Visit to Iceland in May 2005.
  • President Shri Ram Nath Kovind paid a State Visit to Iceland from 9-11 September 2019.
  • President Dr. Olafur Ragnar Grimsson of Iceland paid State Visits to India in October 2000 and January 2010. He also visited India in 2005, 2007, 2008 and 2013.

Summit meetings

The Prime Minister of India met Icelandic Prime Minister Kristrún Frostadóttir on the margins of the 3rd India-Nordic Summit in Oslo on 19 May 2026. According to the brief, they discussed cooperation in geothermal energy, fisheries, the India-EFTA TEPA, innovative technologies, the creative economy, culture, tourism, mobility, people-to-people contacts and Arctic issues.

The Prime Minister had earlier met Katrin Jakobsdottir, whom the brief calls former PM, on the margins of the India-Nordic Summits in May 2022 and April 2018.

Foreign Minister meetings

  • Foreign Minister of Iceland Mr. Gunnar Sveinsson met External Affairs Minister (EAM) Smt. Sushma Swaraj in New Delhi in April 2016.
  • Mr. Gudlaugur Thordarson, then Foreign Minister of Iceland, met EAM Smt. Sushma Swaraj in New Delhi in December 2018.
  • On 12 May 2022, as the two countries marked 50 years of bilateral relations, EAM Dr. S. Jaishankar held an online meeting with Foreign Minister Ms. Thordis Kolbrun R. Gylfadottir.
  • On 10 March 2024, on the sidelines of the signing of the India-EFTA Trade and Economic Partnership Agreement (TEPA), Dr. S. Jaishankar held a bilateral meeting with Foreign Minister Mr Bjarni Benediktsson.

Other visits

From Iceland, the Speaker of Parliament visited New Delhi in 2012, and a delegation from the Supreme Court of Iceland visited in 2011.

From India, the brief lists:

  • MoS Smt. Preneet Kaur, September 2010
  • a 10-member goodwill parliamentary delegation led by Shri Pawan Kumar Bansal, Minister of Parliamentary Affairs, June 2011
  • MoS (IT and Shipping) Shri Milind Deora, July 2013
  • Shri S. S. Ahluwalia, MoS (Electronics and IT), June 2018

Foreign Office Consultations

Four rounds of Foreign Office Consultations (FOC) have been held as of the brief: in New Delhi (October 2005), Reykjavik (2006), New Delhi (2023) and Reykjavik (2026). An MOU on Foreign Office Consultations was signed in May 2005.

Agreements

Other agreements and MOUs listed in the brief are set out in the other articles of this guide by subject: science, energy, fisheries and culture in the cooperation article, and the visa exemption agreement in the practical guide.