Icelandic PM hails Scots links after Sturgeon meeting

The prime minister of Iceland has hailed her country's "longstanding relationship" with Scotland after talks with Nicola Sturgeon.

Katrín Jakobsdóttir sat down with the first minister at Ms Sturgeon's Bute House residence in Edinburgh.

The two leaders discussed Brexit, Iceland's presidency of the Nordic Council and Scotland's Arctic policies.

Ms Sturgeon said the two governments had "shared ambitions and challenges" on a range of different topics.

The pair will also both speak at the Wellbeing Economy Governments group - part of the OECD World Forum - in Edinburgh on Wednesday.

Iceland is set to take over the presidency of the Nordic Council of Ministers, and the two leaders discussed this, as well as the work the Scottish government is doing on developing an Arctic policy framework.

Ms Sturgeon said it was a "pleasure" to host Ms Jakobsdóttir, saying the countries have "a long history of friendship" with "many historic and cultural ties".

She said: "I look forward to working with the Icelandic government in the future on our common goals of promoting fair and equitable societies, where economic growth is matched by improved wellbeing.

"We will take that forward tomorrow with discussions at the Wellbeing Governments' group meeting."

Ms Jakobsdóttir was interviewed by BBC Scotland's The Nine programme in February, discussing topics including Brexit and Scottish independence.

Following her visit to Bute House, she said the two countries were building on their "longstanding relationship" by collaborating on issues like the Wellbeing Economy Government project.

She said: "We agree on the urgency of responding to climate change and we are committed to our collaboration on sustainable tourism.

"Scotland has also taken important initiatives in relation to gender-based violence, not least image-based abuse and domestic violence, a development which we follow closely."