Speech by the President of the Republic of Finland Tarja Halonen at a dinner on the state visit to Vietnam, 21 February 2008

(check against delivery)

I would like to thank you, Mr President, for your kind words to myself, to the delegation and to the Finnish people. I would like to extend our warmest thanks to you for your invitation to visit your beautiful country.

Relations between our countries are excellent and cordial – we are old friends. Finland was one of the first western countries to recognize Vietnam and our diplomatic relations were established in January 1973. So, this year, 2008, marks the 35th anniversary of our official relations.

In Finland, there was a lot of sympathy towards you when your country went through the difficult times. Finns have remained willing to support Vietnam after the war too.

Vietnam has been one of our longest-standing development cooperation partners. We Finns have focused particularly on eradicating poverty, on developing rural areas and on building basic infrastructure such as the water supply. Your own commitment and determination has helped your country make great progress in achieving the Millennium Development Goals of the United Nations.

Finland will continue the development cooperation with Vietnam in the years to come. Your country is going through a period of profound positive change. We hope to find new partnerships for our cooperation in order to make it possible to deepen and expand our bilateral ties even further.

Mitigating climate change and safeguarding social progress are global challenges, and they are challenges for individual countries too. We all have to commit to the effort in order to ensure development trends that are sustainable for both people and the environment.

* * *

Vietnam and Finland are actually not so far away from each other as one might think by looking at a map. There is a railway link between Helsinki and Hanoi, and in the future there will most probably be more direct flights between Finland and Vietnam.

Both Finns and Vietnamese people love nature. We value diligence, know-how and expertise. We are very practical people yet also very creative. Contacts between our citizens are increasing through development cooperation and growing trade and investment. Vietnam is also becoming a popular holiday destination for Finns. There is a community of nearly 5,000 Vietnamese people in Finland. This community is considered to be one of the best-integrated immigrant communities in Finnish society.

Vietnam is now one of the most rapidly growing economies in Asia. We would like to congratulate you on becoming a member of the World Trade Organization. When I met Vietnamese journalists in Helsinki, they reminded me that you have just celebrated the New Year. I hope that the Agreement on Promotion and Protection of Investments signed today between our two countries may be a positive sign for the New Year – as it implies broader cooperation and development efforts. Tomorrow, a Finnish-Vietnamese business forum will take place here in Hanoi. I hope that the forum will generate further useful contacts for mutual benefit.

In both countries, culture is of great importance for national identity, and culture is acknowledged as a source of and inspiration for creativity. Folk music is respected and supported in our two countries. As a practical example of cultural cooperation, I would like to mention the editing of the Vietnamese national epic in collaboration between Vietnamese and Finnish experts. Their work is based on the editing of the Finnish national epic, the Kalevala. Later this spring, there will be an exhibition of the architecture and design of the famous Finnish architect Alvar Aalto here in Vietnam.

* * *

Vietnam has been elected a non-permanent member of the UN Security Council for 2008 and 2009. I would like to congratulate you on this achievement, which demonstrates the respected role that Vietnam has as a member of the international community and as a supporter of regional stability. Finland is running for non-permanent membership of the Security Council for 2013 and 2014, and we hope your support to our aspirations.

Respect for human rights and the rule of law create a strong foundation for economic growth, equality and social stability. We know this from our own experience. Vietnam has shown positive trends in many ways, and I hope this will encourage you further. This is the wish of the European Union as a whole too, and it is also the purpose of the dialogue in which we are engaging. Relations between the European Union and Vietnam are growing closer – especially with the finalising of the broad-based partnership and cooperation agreement currently being negotiated.

* * *

I have the honour and the pleasure of being the first Finnish Head of State to come to Vietnam on a state visit. I hope that this visit will strengthen our partnership, increase our interest in one another and extend our bilateral relations.

I would like to wish you, President Nguyen Minh Triet and Madame Tran Thi Kim Chi, health and success, and I would like to propose a toast to friendship and cooperation between Finland and Vietnam.