Speech by President of the Republic of Finland Tarja Halonen at the luncheon hosted by Ole von Beust, Mayor of Hamburg, 9 May 2008

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I would like to thank you for this lovely lunch, the wonderful food and your kind words addressed to Finland and to myself. Germany is an important partner for Finland in many respects. Later today, I will be attending the 30th anniversary of the German-Finnish Chamber of Commerce, an institution which in itself testifies to the importance of trade in our relations. Germany has been Finland’s largest trading partner for many years, and a major portion of Finland’s exports and imports pass through the Port of Hamburg.

Today we are also celebrating another and far older birthday. Today marks the opening of the 819th Hafengeburtstag Hamburg. Finland has the pleasure and honour of being the partner country in this port festival this year. I would like to thank you for this excellent opportunity to participate in your festival and to present our country to its visitors. This is a pleasant task, as Finland has close connections with northern Germany and Hamburg, and we have been good friends for a long time.

In Finland, we acknowledge the importance of the Port of Hamburg and the increasing volumes of goods which it handles. In recent years, its growth has been breathtaking, and some of this can be attributed to Finland. After all, Finland is now the fourth-largest customer of Hamburg’s container port. In turn, we should probably give credit to our eastern neighbour Russia for our high ranking, because a considerable volume of transit freight to and from Russia passes through Finland. This topic was discussed at the port logistics forum at the Hotel Atlantic yesterday when Finnish ports and port companies met their German counterparts. The port and transport sector is important in Finland too.

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We all love the Baltic Sea. Our ships sail on it, we fish in it, we bathe in it, and we are fascinated by its beauty. In April, an exhibition by photographer Jukka Nurminen from Turku in Finland entitled ‘The underwater archipelago’ was on display at the Rathaus here in Hamburg; some of you may have seen it.

But the Baltic Sea is a beauty that is almost mortally ill. We must pool our resources to save it. Environmental protection must rank high along with economic interests in both our national strategies and EU strategies. Yesterday I spoke in more detail about the Baltic Sea at the Überseeklub dinner. I believe that there is a lot of support in Hamburg for this approach.

In recent years, Finns have been pleased to find that Finland is highly respected in Germany, particularly because of our top ranking in the PISA study, which measures the competence of comprehensive school pupils. We Finns value education and learning, and education has always been the key to Finland’s success. The fruits of our long-term efforts are beginning to show in recent international comparisons concerning children’s learning, competitiveness, sustainable development and many other areas.

But in a globalized world, we must always look forwards. We will use every means at our disposal to promote the security and well-being of Finland and Finns in the future. International cooperation and partnership, particularly among the countries along the Baltic Sea, will be an important part of our efforts.

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Hamburg is not only a port city and an aviation industry city; it also has a lively cultural scene. I would like to express my warmest thanks to the Hamburger Kunsthalle for organizing a Helene Schjerfbeck retrospective last year. I was glad to see that the works of a painter so beloved to us Finns attracted a great deal of interest here. The exhibition has since then gone on to the Hague and Paris.

Recently, a historical government was formed under your leadership in Hamburg. This is the first Länder Government in Germany where the CDU and the Greens are both represented. I am sure you will have an interesting and challenging time in developing Hamburg further. I would like to take this opportunity not only to thank you for this lunch but also to wish you every success in your work and prosperity for the citizens of Freie und Hansestadt Hamburg.