Speech by President of the Republic Tarja Halonen at a state banquet hosted by President Hifikepunye Pohamba of Namibia on 22 February 2011

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Allow me, Mr President, to once more thank you on behalf of my husband and myself for your kind invitation to visit your beautiful country. We have felt the warm hospitality of you and of the Namibian people since our arrival. This is my first visit to your country and I am very happy to be here.

Namibia and Finland are united in a unique way. The first Finnish missionaries arrived in Namibia already in 1869. Many of them settled in Ovamboland, where Namibians and Finns over generations have been working together.

As you know, Finland was a firm supporter of Namibia’s independence. Finland made efforts to advance the Namibian cause in the United Nations together with our Nordic partners and through a bilateral support. My predecessor President Martti Ahtisaari played an important role in Namibia´s independence process as the Special Representative of the UN Secretary General.

The relations between Finland and Namibia have been warm and close. Many of your countrymen and women joined our scholarship program and studied in Finland.

We have a great number of individuals and organizations in Finland with long personal ties to Namibia. Finnish-Namibian society is a very active and broad based association in Finland.

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Namibia has been one of Finland’s long-term partner countries for bilateral development cooperation. We have worked together to advance social development and local governance and forestry.

Thanks to the remarkable socio-economic development, Namibia belongs today to the group of upper middle income countries. The relations between our two countries have developed accordingly.

Finland and Namibia continue to be close friends. There are many opportunities to further enhance our cooperation. One encouraging example is the partnership between the Geological Survey of Finland and the Ministry of Mines and Energy of Namibia.

Grass-root level cooperation is an important dimension of cooperation between our two countries. The ties between our non-governmental organizations are traditionally strong. Good examples of this are, for instance, the program to promote opportunities for people with special needs, cooperation between women’s organizations and the program to support Namibian trade unions.

The role of women in peace and security, and in sustainable development overall, is crucial. We need to continue our joint efforts to promote the UN Security Council Resolution 1325 on Women, peace and security as well as resolution 1820 concerning Sexual violence against civilian populations in conflicts. These principles need to be turned into practice on the ground.

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Finland strongly advocates the regional integration in Africa, as does the European Union. We are supporting a number of regional cooperation programmes in Southern Africa, mainly through SADC.

Namibia plays a special role in a regional program on Innovation and Information Technology. The aim is to contribute to economic growth and alleviation of poverty through innovation. Finland is pleased offer our expertise in this area.

Trade between Namibia and Finland needs to be given more attention and efforts, on both sides. There is a lot of potential, which we have to build on.

Africa is a strategic partner for the European Union. Finland, as a Member State of the European Union, strongly believes that this partnership should be strengthened, based on truly equal terms.

Peace and stability and economic and social development are closely dependent on each other. The promotion of regional political and economic integration is a key element in creating a better and more secure world. We appreciate the achievements of the SADC and the constructive role of Namibia.

Finland promotes peace and security in Africa inter alia through enhancing peace mediation capacity of the African Union. I am well aware of the Namibian commitment for peaceful solutions to conflicts both in Africa and Asia. Namibia is well-known for its active participation in UN peacekeeping missions.

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In the globalized world there is a growing inter-dependence between countries and regions. Our common challenge is to turn globalization into a positive force that promotes peace, social justice and sustainable development worldwide.

We are both strong supporters of the multilateral cooperation and particularly of the United Nations. Attaining the UN Millennium Development Goals continues to be our key common commitment.

His Excellency the President of the Republic of South Africa Mr Jacob Zuma and myself are chairing the UN High-level Panel on Global Sustainability. We have been tasked to find ways in which we could combine stable economic growth, social justice and ecologically sustainable development. I am looking forward to the second meeting of the Panel in South Africa this week.

Mr President, I would like to propose a toast to You and your wife, to the happiness and well being of the Namibian people and to the friendship and cooperation between our two countries.