Minister of Foreign Affairs and External Trade Ingibjorg Solrun Gisladottir of Iceland

Iceland's Foreign Minister Ingibjorg Solrun Gisladottir said both Israeli and Palestinian officials see a chance for peace, according to reports reaching here from Reykjavik on Friday.

Gisladottir has already had meetings with the foreign ministers of Laos, Vietnam, Lesotho, Syria, the Dominican Republic, Costa Rica and countries along the Persian Gulf.

Secretary Rice and Foreign Minister Gisladottir discussed the international community's efforts in Afghanistan and security in the High North.

He said he had no preferred choice but would certainly talk to the Social Democrats, whose leader Ingibjorg Solrun Gisladottir had hoped going into the vote to lead a government-toppling coalition.

Gisladottir was asked at the press conference whether she would withdraw ICRU members from NATO projects in Afghanistan as well.

Gisladottir said Iceland should focus on other development programs related to Iraq, like educational programs for Iraqi refugees.

Ingibjorg Solrun Gisladottir said that now there are very special circumstances in society and that politicians’ pay should reflect that.

Ingibjorg Solrun GisladottirMinister for Foreign Affairs, IcelandWomen in Leadership and their Impact on World AffairsIngibjorg Solrun Gisladottir has been Icelands Minister for Foreign Affairs since May 2007 and has played a vital role in Icelandic political life for more than a decade.

Minister Gisladottir was a founding member of the Womens Party in Iceland, Kvennalistinn in 1982, and went on to serve as a party representative and MP (1991-1994) for this innovative and ground-breaking party which attracted worldwide attention.

Minister Gisladottir has chaired and served on numerous committees and boards in including the Board of the Central Bank of Iceland (2003-2005), and as an MP was especially involved in environmental and European issues.

Minister Gisladottir has a degree in history and literature from the University of Iceland, did post-graduate studies and research at the University of Copenhagen and was a visiting fellow at the European Institute of the London School of Economics.

Repeating the official Icelandic government line, Gisladottir said the quota was "sustainable" although she did criticize the decision after the fisheries ministry announced the quota earlier in May Gisladottir became foreign minister a year ago when Prime Minister Geir H Haarde announced a new cabinet composed of his conservative Independence Party and Gisladottir's Social Democrats.

Foreign Minister Ingibjorg Solrun Gisladottir said in Reykjavik that deposits by British and Dutch citizens in Icesave amount to some 3.

In a statement to SANA, Minister Gisladottir described her meeting with President al-Assad as productive and very good, adding that talks focused on bilateral relations, the regional situation and the peace process.

Gisladottir said her country was going through difficult economic times, but said that no one mentioned that would affect the voting.