Speech by President of the Republic Tarja Halonen at the state banquet for the President of Chile, 29 May 2007

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I would like to most cordially welcome you, Madam President, and your delegation to springtime Finland. For me personally, it is a great pleasure to host, once again, an official visit by the President of Chile to our country.

Culture is the soul of the people. The culture of your country is greatly loved by all of us. And no one has given voice to your culture, to your soul, more perfectly than the famous poet Pablo Neruda. In his Nobel Prize acceptance speech, Pablo Neruda said that it was his duty as a writer to become a public voice, a voice not just for the people of his country but for his entire continent. As a widely translated poet, he has reached lots of readers outside your continent, even up here in the North.

Cultural ties between our two countries have become increasingly strong in recent years. I recall for instance the exchange of visits between the Savonlinna Opera Festival and the Teatro Municipal de Santiago. More recently, our cultural cooperation has covered jazz, rock and other popular music, and also cinema. Around New Year 2005, an exhibition of housing and design work by the famous Finnish architect Alvar Aalto was organised in Santiago. I have heard that there are plans to organise an exhibition of contemporary Finnish artists next year, also in Santiago.

Early Finnish explorers found Chile a fascinating country. In the 19th century, Finnish seafarer and adventurer Carl Edward Bladh wrote a book which made Chile more widely known in Finland. Finnish professor and geologist Väinö Auer, who lived in Argentina, made several expeditions to Chilean Patagonia and Tierra del Fuego in the 1920s. I understand that there are plans to honour the life work of Väinö Auer with a ceremony in Punta Arenas later this year.

In environmental issues, we continue to share common interests. Both our countries have fragile and vulnerable natural environments close to the Poles. These regions are among the first areas to experience the impact of climate change. I personally feel that we should intensify our cooperation to protect the polar areas and to contribute actively to global work for combating climate change.

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During the difficult years of dictatorship, many people in Finland had strong feelings of solidarity with the people of Chile. These sad events also led to some happy developments. Refugees from Chile here in Finland were excellent ambassadors for your country, your culture and your desire for democracy. I am very happy that those troubled times for Chile and for your people are long gone, and that we can now focus on the future and not on the past.

Today, Chile is a democratic, innovative and internationally oriented country. Your government has an ambitious and future-oriented programme which focuses on education, research and innovation. At the same time, you aim to reinforce social justice and equality between citizens. In this, we share the same values and overall goals, and I hope that Finland can be a good partner for you in achieving these objectives. In order to manage well in globalisation it is extremely important to promote democracy and social justice. Both Chile and Finland has chosen this approach.

Cooperation between universities, boosted by a visit made by rectors of Finnish universities to Chile in 1999, has become more diverse and more intensive. In the area of science and technology, the Academy of Finland and the corresponding Chilean organisation CONICYT have made a good start in cooperation – a roadmap for future cooperation is to be signed tomorrow. The Technical Research Centre of Finland and the Chilean Institute of Mining and Minerals have already concluded an agreement on cooperation earlier this spring. I would like to note that currently there are more than 20 Chilean forest administration officials visiting Finland on a study trip. In our discussions today, we have touched upon areas in which we could further strengthen our bilateral scientific and technological cooperation.

Trade relations between our countries have developed rapidly in the past few years. Chile is second only to Brazil among our trading partners in Latin America, measured by the overall volume of trade. Our exports may vary considerably from one year to the next, because they are closely related to investments made by industries in Chile, particularly in the areas of mining and forestry. Nevertheless, there is a clear upward trend. Our imports from Chile have traditionally consisted mainly of copper, but fruits and wines are becoming increasingly important.

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Chile and Finland are both active in promoting the role of the United Nations and in supporting the reform process of the world organisation. Chile has our full support in its efforts in the group of facilitators for Security Council reform, and Chile has also been a constructive member of the UN Peacebuilding Commission.

I have personally had the pleasure of working with many Chileans in international contexts. For example, Mr Juan Somavia, the Director General of the ILO, provided excellent support for the work of the World Commission on the Social Dimension of Globalization – which I had the honour of co-chairing. I am also happy to see that a former President of Chile and a good friend of mine, Mr Ricardo Lagos, has been appointed one of the UN Secretary General’s special envoys on climate change.

Chile is an important partner for the European Union. The Association Agreement between the EU and Chile is thus an important instrument also for our bilateral relations. We wish to continue developing the political dialogue between the EU and Chile and to deepen the partnership between the two – as well as between the EU and the rest of Latin America and the Caribbean. We feel that Chile can play a very important role in ensuring political and economic stability in the whole continent.

Madam President,

Here in Finland, you are truly among friends. Aquí en Finlandia, está realmente entre amigos. I would like to propose a toast in your honour and to the happiness and prosperity of the people of Chile, and to friendship and cooperation between our two countries.