Speech by President of the Republic of Finland Tarja Halonen at the State Dinner hosted by H.E. Mrs Mary McAleese, the President of Ireland, 12 November 2007

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I would like to thank you, Madam President, for the kind words you addressed to the Finnish delegation and to myself. My husband and I would like to thank you cordially for extending an invitation for us to come to Ireland on an official visit. We both fondly remember your and Dr McAleese’s visit to Finland in May 2001.

According to an international survey Ireland is the most hospitable country in the world, and the hospitality we have enjoyed here certainly proves this correct. Also, the atmosphere of our talks today has been very frank and positive, and we have really felt ourselves to be among friends. The Finns and the Irish have a habit of getting along famously.

The things that link us include our love for culture. Both of our countries have managed to preserve their original culture and even to export it to the rest of the world – despite of all the difficulties that our nations have had to face during our respective histories. In cultural sense, I suppose we might say that we are large for our size.

In Finland, as indeed elsewhere, the Irish national character and Irish culture hold great attraction. You are known in many branches of the arts, from Nobel laureates in literature and poetry to pop and rock superstars. Traditional Irish music has also many fans in Finland. The annual festival of Irish music organized by the very active Finnish-Irish Society is highly popular.

We Finns are of course delighted to note that Finnish culture is becoming better known in Ireland. For example, photographer Elina Brotherus, who is accompanying me on this state visit, held a widely commended exhibition here in Dublin last spring. This year, music of our national composer Jean Sibelius has been presented in Ireland – as elsewhere – to mark the occasion of the 50th anniversary of his death. In the coming year, we intend to concentrate on the fine arts.

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Earlier today at the Government luncheon, I already spoke about the importance of the European Union membership to both countries. As relates to global affairs, Ireland and Finland are strongly in favour of multilateral cooperation – particularly within the United Nations. We are very like-minded on topics such as international peace and security, human rights, development and environmental protection.

In view of the size of our countries, we have been active in conflict prevention and resolution all around the world. In peacekeeping, we have been cooperating already for half a century. One example of this is the Finnish-Irish battalion in Lebanon. Our next joint effort will be the Nordic Battlegroup of the EU, which will be on duty for six months from the beginning of 2008.

In crisis management, Ireland has drawn on the experiences and know-how acquired in the peace process in Northern Ireland. I am aware that you, Madam President, and your husband have been active in building bridges between the two parts of this island. Thanks to the determined efforts of all of you – and those of the Taoiseach, Mr Ahern, and Prime Minister Blair – a result has been achieved which would have been difficult to conceive as possible ten years ago, or even a couple of years ago. We are, of course, pleased that a number of Finns have contributed to this process, such as my predecessor President Ahtisaari, senior statesman Mr Harri Holkeri and Brigadier General Nieminen, who is with us here today.

Next year, Finland will assume the chairmanship of the Organization for Security and Cooperation in Europe. We want to enhance the role of the OSCE as an important forum for European cooperation. The organization has still a lot to contribute, particularly in the promotion of democracy and the rule of law among its participating countries. We Finns wish to cooperate in an open and transparent manner with all our partners during our chairmanship.

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We enjoy good bilateral relations, which are evolving steadily in many different ways. In this context, the efforts of NGOs deserve special mention. There are friendship societies in both our countries, which are actively promoting friendship, knowledge and understanding between Irish and Finnish people. Friendship societies play an important role also for keeping in touch with one’s homeland. A number of Finns have in recent years emigrated to Ireland, particularly to work for information technology companies.

Better communications and transport also increase connections between people. A good example of this is the direct flight between Dublin and Helsinki recently opened up by Aer Lingus. A fair number of Finnish tourists visit Ireland every year, and I hope that Irish tourists will be taking an increased interest in Finland too. Both our countries have natural beauty, a fascinating culture and a deeply seated folk tradition to offer.

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Yesterday marked the tenth anniversary of your becoming President of Ireland. I would like to congratulate you, and the Irish people, on this occasion and to propose a toast to your and Dr McAleese’s very good health and to wish for continued success to cooperation between Finland and Ireland.