Concluding remarks by the President of the Republic Tarja Halonen at the Finnish-Brazilian Economic Seminar, 10 September 2007

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The seminar Opportunities of Investment in Brazil is an excellent demonstration of the potential for economic cooperation between our two countries. Brazil is already Finland’s most important trading partner in Latin America, and this seminar has shown that both Finnish and Brazilian companies are willing to explore further cooperation.

The special theme for today was increasing Finnish investment in Brazil. I should note, however, that it is my hope that investment will flow both ways. Brazilian investment is more than welcome in Finland, and I trust that the Brazilian companies represented here have become convinced of Finland’s strengths in this respect.

I would like to take this opportunity to assure you that Finnish companies are used to behaving in accordance with the Nordic sense of responsibility and the companies which are already operating in Brazil and those which may invest there in the future are reputable and sound businesses whose word can be trusted.

In today’s globalized world, the wellbeing of countries and peoples is increasingly dependent on developments in other countries. From the Finnish point of view, it is by no means irrelevant how the economies of Latin America or Asia develop. Likewise, the wellbeing of the citizens of Brazil is dependent on economic and social developments in Europe and in Asia.

Increasing interdependence is a positive force, and we should try to make it even more so. This requires more multilateral international cooperation and also more interregional cooperation.

In order to make globalization genuinely benefit everyone in the world, we need better international treaties. I believe that we all want to see the current round of negotiations in the WTO concluded successfully as soon as possible so that we can sign a new multilateral trade agreement. We know that this is not an easy task, but we also know, unfortunately, that the consequences of failing to reach an agreement could be very serious indeed.

However, the new WTO treaty is not the only challenge. The theme of this seminar is international investment, which is an increasingly important field. Achieving a multilateral treaty framework for international investment would be in the interests of both investors and countries receiving the investment.

Not only are international trade and international investment increasing, but people are moving from country to country more actively. I believe that it is important to achieve a treaty framework for the movement of people too, so that worldwide migration could be turned into a benefit for all parties.

In interregional cooperation, our attention is primarily on EU-Mercosur and on developing the strategic partnership between the European Union and Brazil. The regions need one another. Finland is strongly in favour of achieving the EU-Mercosur Association Agreement and of developing the strategic partnership between the European Union and Brazil.

Even in a globalized world, nation-states are important actors, and building a better globalization can only begin at home. Better national regulation translates into better globalization, a better life for people and a better operating environment for businesses.

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This seminar has thoroughly discussed the principal opportunities and challenges in economic cooperation between our two countries. The forest industry, information and communications technology, energy, bioenergy, the environment, metals and the mining industry have been given special emphasis. Of course, you are all well acquainted with these matters, and I do not need to go into more detail.

For my own part, I would like to underline an important form of cooperation which is related to all these sectors: research cooperation. The Academy of Finland, which pursues scientific research at a high level, signed a Letter of Understanding with its Brazilian counterpart, the National Council for Scientific and Technological Development, one year ago. It is our hope that this will further enhance cooperation between our two countries. The first tangible project resulting from this focuses on energy research.

Both Finland and Brazil have important expertise in the energy sector. Our cooperation will promote sustainable development and will benefit not only both our countries but the entire world.

I would like to thank the organizers of and participants in this seminar for their efforts to promote cooperation between Finland and Brazil. I greatly appreciate your work and wish you the best of success.