Speech by President of the Republic of Finland Tarja Halonen at a banquet hosted by President of Nigeria Umaru Yar'Adua in Abuja on 9 March 2009

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I would like to thank you, President Yar'Adua, for your kind words that you addressed to me, my spouse and the whole Finnish delegation. Your predecessor President Obasanjo visited our country in 2004 – I have good memories of that visit. It is a great honour to be the first Head of State of Finland to pay an official visit to Nigeria, and I hope that it will further strengthen our partnership and increase mutual interest in our two countries.

Geographically we are not so close but there are still strong ties, which bind us together. Bilateral relations between Finland and Nigeria are good and positive; our diplomatic relations date back to the 1960's.

The European Union’s relations with the African Union have grown rapidly in the past years. The EU is determined to strengthen its cooperation with the African Union, the sub-regional organizations and individual countries.

As the most populous nation in Africa, your country is a strong and powerful actor regionally and in global terms. We commend your efforts to promote peace and seek solutions to conflicts in Africa, especially during your current chairmanship of the Economic Community of West African States (ECOWAS).

Our two countries share long traditions in supporting peace processes and we have been actively participating in international crisis management operations though the past decades. There are also many individuals who have tirelessly worked for a more secure and just world. Here, I would like to refer to your former President Obasanjo, who is serving as the Secretary General's special envoy on the Great Lakes region, and to my predecessor President Ahtisaari, who received the Nobel Peace Prize in December for his efforts in solving international conflicts.

Nigeria and Finland play an active role in the United Nations and support multilateralism and a strong UN as the main forum for global cooperation. Both our countries have clearly expressed their wish to obtain a seat on the UN Security Council. I hope the best of success to these aspirations.

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Nigeria is a country with great prospects. You have taken positive steps towards becoming a stable nation based on democracy, the respect for human rights and the rule of law. You have enormous natural wealth, especially in oil and gas, to boost the economic growth.This provides you with a good basis to improve the wellbeing of your citizens.

In the globalized world, interdependence between countries is growing. Current example of this is the international economic crisis. It has triggered a process that affects all of us.

We need to turn globalization into a positive force which supports growth, decent work, sustainable development and justice in such a way that the benefits will be more evenly distributed both between nations as well as within them. This was also a starting point in the work of the ILO World Commission on the Social Dimension of Globalization, which I had the honour to co-chair with the then President of Tanzania, Benjamin Mkapa.

The importance of trade as an engine of development and growth is evident. Trade and investment are prerequisites for a healthy and sustainable national economy. The developed countries have a very important role in supporting, in particular, the countries of Africa and in helping them to integrate better into the global economy. Every country has a right to prosper.

Globalization and challenges deriving from it are human-made. Therefore, it is for us, people, to solve them. But we have to take into account that our actions have wide-ranging effects also on the nature. Mitigating climate change is necessary for the future of the whole mankind. I understand that also Nigeria is experiencing increasing problems with desertification.

Current economic problems must not slow down the process to combat climate change. We now need a global agreement more than ever. The United Nations Climate Change Conference in Copenhagen will be held already in December. It is very important that all major economies contribute effectively in the global efforts to mitigate the climate change. At the same time, the participation of developing countries is essential.

We must also take gender equality issues into account. Climate change will most seriously hit the poorest people – and 70 percent of the poor are women. By helping women to survive in their everyday lives, we promote the overall goals of development. This was also one of the topics discussed last weekend in Monrovia at the International Colloquium on Women's Empowerment, which I was pleased to co-host together with the President of Liberia, Ms. Ellen Johnson-Sirleaf.

Internationally, there are many challenges ahead, which can be addressed if we will combine our forces and work to together for a better future for all of us. In this, attaining the UN Millennium Development Goals continues to be our key common commitment.

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There is a great potential for developing the cooperation between Finland and Nigeria in different fields. We have, for example, a lot of possibilities to expand our cooperation to new economic and trade partnerships. My visit will be followed up by of a business delegation from Finland later this year.

Finland and Nigeria could also form stronger links in the fields of culture and education. Nigeria has a rich history, a wealth of traditions and multifaceted culture that has become more familiar to us Finns, too.

Let me propose a toast to you President Umaru Yar'Adua and to your spouse, Hajiya Turai Umaru Yar'Adua, and through you to the Nigerian people to wish all of you a prosperous and happy future.