Speech by President of the Republic Tarja Halonen at the Banquet Hosted by Abdullah Gül, President of Turkey, in Ankara on 29 March 2011

(check against delivery)

My husband and I would like to thank you for your invitation to come to Turkey on an official visit. We greatly appreciate this opportunity and the hospitality you have shown us. Our meeting recalls fond memories of autumn 2008, when you, Mr President, and your wife visited Finland.

In June this year, forty years will have elapsed since the state visit to Turkey by President of Finland Urho Kekkonen. My predecessor, President Ahtisaari, visited your country in 1999. I am delighted to be able to continue this tradition. During the present official visit, I will have the opportunity to see Ankara, your capital city, and meet many of the members of your government. Tomorrow we will be visiting Sanliurfa in south-eastern Turkey.

Finland has a high regard for Turkey for its active influence on the international arena. In 2004 I took part in the NATO Summit of the Euro-Atlantic Partnership and the Partnership for Peace countries in Istanbul.

Two years ago I had the opportunity of visiting Istanbul again to take part in the Forum of the Alliance of Civilizations. I greatly value this work and hope that we continue our persistent efforts towards closer dialogue between cultures and religions. Cooperation is a way of increasing tolerance and mutual understanding, a requirement for sustainable peace.

Democracy, respect for human rights, the rule of law and social justice are values we have vouched to support in international cooperation. The events on the southern shores of the Mediterranean now call for our support in practice. However, this support should not take a form that is imposed from outside but one that respects the will of the people. Time will tell whether the ongoing changes will strengthen regional cooperation and open up new opportunities for the Middle East peace process.

Turkey is a key player with considerable influence in this region. I am very much looking forward to discussing the current situation and outlook of your neighbouring regions with you, President Gül.

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Finland and Turkey enjoy a long-standing friendship. Relationships between our countries are excellent, and there is a genuine friendship between our people.

Your country and its historic sights are familiar to many Finns; indeed, Turkey has for a long time been a favourite holiday destination for Finns. We Finns would like to see Turkish tourists coming to Finland to enjoy the wide variety of our four seasons, our clean and peaceful natural environment, and our culture.

Trade between Finland and Turkey has increased considerably in recent years, and many Finnish companies now have a presence in your country. I would like to see us expanding our cooperation in the area of the green economy and clean technology. We have a great deal of expertise in both renewable energies and energy efficiency. The devastating earthquake in Japan and the resulting disaster at a nuclear power plant force us all to contemplate the safety of various energy models.

The importance of education, science and research in creating sustainable development is paramount; these are also sectors that we need to promote in our bilateral cooperation.

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In addition to bilateral relations, Finland and Turkey are in close contact in several international organisations.

Finland has been, and continues to be, a supporter of granting EU membership to Turkey. We therefore urge Turkey to continue its membership preparations on all fronts of negotiation and to draw on the experiences of the EU and its current Member States of how to implement membership criteria in practice. Finland and Turkey are cooperating in implementing EU standards, in areas such as border control, performance management and environmental administration.

Our countries are also engaged in close cooperation in the Council of Europe – as both of us personally know – and the Organisation for Security and Cooperation in Europe.

Both countries are active within the United Nations. We have also submitted a joint initiative for a Resolution concerning peace mediation. We are hopeful of this initiative producing results by next autumn. Attaining the United Nations Millennium Goals is one of the most important global commitments of our time – a promise made by all countries to strive for a better future. Finland greatly appreciates that Turkey will be hosting the Fourth United Nations Conference on the Least Developed Countries in Istanbul In May.

The same important work is being performed by the UN High-level Panel on Global Sustainability that I have the honour of co-chairing together with the President of the Republic of South-Africa Jacob Zuma; your Deputy Prime Minister Ali Babacan serves as a member on the panel. Our purpose is to find ways of combining economically, socially and ecologically sustainable development.

Attaining these goals would particularly improve the status of women and girls. This is right and proper, because the world cannot afford to neglect half its human resources. Without the participation of women, societies may never make progress on the road to sustainable development.

Mr. President,

It brings me great pleasure to have the opportunity of visiting Turkey. I would like to propose a toast to you and your wife, to the happiness and prosperity of the people of Turkey, and to the friendship between our countries.