Although not a formal diplomatic agreement, the two countries have signed a letter of intent and the move signals Iceland's determination to become involved in Third World fishery development.

According to Antara News, the official Indonesian news agency, the governments will help each other increase the capacity of the fishing and marine sector, as well as improve research into fishing and improve their systems of integrated fishery management.

Indonesia has a huge fishing fleet catching species popular in western Europe such as tuna and prawns, but some of its grounds are plundered by foreign trawlers because the country does not have naval resources to police the vast coastlines around its numerous islands.

It is a part of the world now being wooed by many countries because of its seafood resources. Just recently, a delegation from Grimsby, led by the Grimsby Institute of Further and Higher Education and including a number of key fishing related companies, visited Indonesia with a view to establish a seafood corridor for the new proposed Humber Seafood Exchange.

Capitalising on their common experience in the fishing and marine sector, the governments of Iceland and Indonesia have agreed to co-operate in a number of areas.

As part of the agreement, fishery experts from Indonesia may be attending a training programme offered by the United Nations University in Iceland’s capital sometime in the near future. In addition, Iceland will assist Indonesian fishery vessels install electronic log books in order to improve quality control.

According to the United Nations Food and Agricultural Organisation (FAO), fish worth an estimated £1-billion were caught illegally in Indonesian waters by unregulated fishing boats. In contrast, legal fishing catches accounted for two per cent of Indonesia’s gross domestic product in 2007, an amount worth around £1.2-billion.

Iceland, which also depends on fishing as one of the backbones of its national economy, is thought able to provide help on controlling illegal activity.

Agung Kurniadi, first secretary at the Indonesian Embassy in Norway (the country nearest to Iceland with diplomatic connections), said the agreement was contained in a Letter of Intent signed by Indonesia`s Marine and Fisheries Minister, Freddy Numberi and Iceland`s Fisheries and Agriculture Minister, Einar Gudfinnsson on behalf of their respective governments in Reykjavik, Iceland`s capital.

He said the cooperation would be kick started by the sending of Indonesian fishery experts to a fishery training programme at the United Nations University in Reykjavik, the formulation of a model for the installation of electronic log books at Indonesian fishery boats and efforts to cooperate in quality control.

Mr Kurniadi said with the country`s waters covering a total of five million square kilometers, the Indonesian government had an abiding interest in managing national fishery resources and fighting illegal fishing continuously.

During his visit in Reykjavik, Minister Numberi also met with 50 local businessmen to brief them on investment opportunities in Indonesia`s marine and fishery sectors.

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