Speech by President of the Republic of Finland Tarja Halonen at a banquet held in honour of President Benjamin Mkapa of Tanzania and Mrs Mkapa in Helsinki on 7 September 2005

My husband and I have the great honour and pleasure of welcoming you, Mr President and Mrs Mkapa, to Finland. We are delighted that you have accepted the invitation to visit Finland in the final weeks of your term of office. We visited Tanzania in February 2003, and I would like to express our gratitude for the warm reception we were given. Among other things, we had the opportunity to see the richness of Tanzania’s natural surroundings. Your country does really valuable work — not only for Africa but for the whole world community — in looking after Nature’s diversity and the preservation of Nature’s legacy.

My visit to Tanzania was also related to our work in co-chairing the World Commission on the Social Dimension of Globalization, which was set up by the ILO. The World Commission arranged hearings in Africa and in other continents. We had the opportunity to meet African opinion leaders in Arusha, to hear their views and to receive their valuable input for the preparation of the World Commission’s final report.

Globalization can and must be reformed. The concept of social dimension of globalization has now become accepted worldwide. Last December, on the basis of a joint Finnish/Tanzanian initiative, the UN General Assembly unanimously approved a resolution whereby the report of the World Commission “A Fair Globalization: Creating Opportunities for All” was approved as one of the basic documents for the forthcoming UN summit. The recommendations of our Commission have been adopted as part of the globalization work of the African Union, and the social dimension of globalization is high up on the EU agenda. I believe that our report is becoming part of a process that will make globalization fairer and create opportunities for all. I hope that the outcome the UN Summit next week will be concrete in this respect.

Tomorrow, the Helsinki Process culminates in the Helsinki Conference. The aim is to seek the means for better governance of globalization, to improve the opportunities for civil society and business life to take part in this process, and to increase citizens’ safety in the midst of uncertainty and change. I hope that the conference will be a fruitful step along the path for a safe and worthwhile life for everyone. We need to build up the feeling of togetherness.

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We meet a few weeks before your country’s general election, in which a new president for the United Republic as well as a new parliament will be elected. In our joint work, we have emphasized at various international fora the importance of democracy, respect for human rights and observance of the rule of law for truly equal participation in the global community. As a development partner Finland, your other partners and non-governmental organizations are interested not only in the final outcome of the election but also in the openness and fairness of the process. I know that you have yourself stressed how important the respect for basic values of democracy are for Tanzania’s own development and for the country’s relations with the outside world.

Relations between Tanzania and Finland have traditionally been very close. You, Mr. President, and President Martti Ahtisaari, my predecessor, have known each other for a long time and are friends. But the cooperation between the countries dates back even further. Finnish missionary activities in Tanzania began already in 1948. Our countries entered into diplomatic relations in 1965, and the Finnish embassy in Dar es Salaam was opened in 1971.

Tanzania continues to be an important co-partner for Finland. Non-governmental organizations have remained active, cultural exchange has increased, and the cooperation between universities has deepened and widened into new fields — here I would particularly like to mention journalism, information technology and the environment. However, we must still step up efforts to promote mutual trade.

During this visit you will have an opportunity to meet with representatives of Finnish forestry and the forest industry. The forest sector could become a major factor in Tanzania’s economic growth and reduction of poverty. The private sector will have a crucial role to play in making this vision come true.

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At the moment, the focus of the international community is very much on the United Nations, and on the forthcoming review of the implementation of the Millennium Development Goals and the reform of the UN. Expectations are high. Advance signals, however, tell us that the timetable for achieving the goals is in many areas lagging behind what was anticipated at the Millennium Summit in 2000.

If we are to achieve the Millennium Development Goals, all parties both in the industrialized countries and developing countries will have to continue pursuing action and changing political will into practical measures. Reducing poverty is an absolute must.

Although the reform of the Security Council holds the limelight, it must not leave other issues in the shade. Our starting point is a comprehensive reform of the UN. This means re-establishing the authority of the General Assembly and strengthening the role of the UN’s economic and social sector. The number of the Security Council seats should be increased to meet the realities of today’s world. At the same time the Council must be kept efficient. It is important that the UN will be able to support more effectively than at present the transition of countries in crisis towards peace and social construction. For this reason, a setting-up of a Peacebuilding Commission is most welcome. We support the reinforcement of the UN role in human rights issues, including establishing a Human Rights Council.

As with all extensive reforms, the best is the enemy of the good. I hope that all parties will recognize the importance of the reform and be ready to surmount obstacles by looking beyond the day-to-day conflicts of interest to the future and to a safer, more cooperative world.