HELSINKI, March 18 (Xinhua) -- Iceland welcomed a decision by the United Nations (UN) Continental Shelf Commission to recognize its sovereign rights over the continental shelf of the Reykjanes Ridge.
The commission's conclusions on Iceland's revised submission were received last Friday, confirming sovereign rights over an area extending more than 570 nautical miles (1,055 km) from the country's baselines. The conclusion is very favorable to Iceland, the Foreign Ministry said in a statement late Monday.
"The decision secures Iceland's sovereign rights for the future. We now have authority over an incredibly large continental shelf area that could contain vast natural resources," Icelandic Foreign Minister Thorgerdur Katrin Gunnarsdottir told national broadcaster RUV on Tuesday.
The Reykjanes Ridge, stretching southwest from Iceland, is believed to contain mineral resources such as oil, gas and metals, other inorganic resources of the seabed and sediments, for example geothermal energy, as well as organisms in the category of benthic species and their genetic material.
Gunnarsdottir said that Iceland is securing interests that are not necessarily visible in the short term but are extremely important into the future. "Decisions about whether to exploit or protect the region's resources will now be in the hands of Iceland and no one else," she added.
The minister noted that the recognition was the result of a 25-year process and marked a significant long-term gain for Iceland.
The government will now begin the process of delimiting the continental shelf with neighboring states in accordance with the UN commission's conclusions, the Foreign Ministry said. ■
