President Halonen at Chinese Academy of Forestry

The President of the Republic Tarja Halonen was conferred with an honorary doctorate at the Chinese Academy of Forestry on 27 November 2002. Speech of the President of the Republic:

Committee Councellor Arajärvi and President Halonen at the Chinese Academy of Forestry. Photo: Lehtikuva.

It is a great honour for me that the Chinese Academy of Forestry has conferred on me today the Honourable Degree of Philosophy. I see this honour as a sign of the excellent co-operation that exists between Finland and China. I wish to express my warm thanks to the Chinese Academy of Forestry for this honour and to you Madam Jiang Zehui for the kind words you have addressed to me.

I am very pleased to see that among the audience there are many participants in the Sino-Finnish Forestry Seminar. You have come from Finland and many provinces of China to a joint seminar in a sector which is important for both our countries.

In Finland forests are a typical part of the landscape and environment and forests have always played an essential role in our livelihood and in our cultural life. Forests and forest industries form one of the main pillars of the Finnish economy. We think that we have a good reason to be proud of our know-how in both forestry and the forest industry.

We know that China pays a lot of attention to her environment. China is establishing large tree plantations, knowing that forests have many positive impacts on vegetation, soil and air. Forests protect human life. We appreciate your reforestation activities highly.

Forests will play a more important role in the economic development of China in the coming years, especially in rural regions. I wish to take this opportunity to express Finland’s commitment to continue working with China to improve knowledge in forestry. This co-operation goes beyond the public sector. Today two Finnish forestry companies will sign co-operation agreements with the Chinese Academy of Forestry.

Finland has paid a lot of attention to the development of a sustainable forest policy. The globalisation of the forest industry has also increased our awareness of international viewpoints in this respect.

The World Summit on Sustainable Development in Johannesburg was an important milestone in our endeavours to achieve sustainable development. The summit reconfirmed our common goal of sustainable use of natural resources for the benefit of all people.

The member countries of the United Nations have since the Rio Conference in 1992 improved their co-ordination and co-operation in order to enhance the conservation and sustainable use of forests. The United Nations Forum on Forests plays an important part in this regard, and I am pleased to acknowledge both China's and Finland's active role in the Forum.

Finland and China have also actively participated in the ASEM Forestry Science and Technology co-operation between the European and Asian countries. This co-operation provides great possibilities for developing closer links between Europe and Asia in the fields of afforestation, monitoring technologies and conservation strategies.

Sino-Finnish forestry co-operation and this ceremony are signs of a good and close relationship between the forestry sectors of our two countries. I am convinced that this relationship will become even more important in the coming years. I wish all the best for the Chinese Academy of Forestry and the forest sector of China and look forward to our future co-operation.