SPEECH BY PRESIDENT OF THE REPUBLIC MARTTI AHTISAARI AT A BANQUET IN HONOUR OF
PRESIDENT VALDAS ADAMKUS OF LITHUANIA AND MRS. ALMA ADAMKIENE
AT THE PRESIDENTIAL PALACE
IN HELSINKI ON 9.11.1998

My wife and I take great delight in bidding you a hearty welcome.

I know, Mr. President, that you have been in Finland earlier. I have also been told that as a young man you had close contacts with Finns. Some time ago we had the opportunity for a brief unofficial meeting. I hope your present visit will add pleasantly to your experience of our country.

My own visits to Lithuania have left me with enjoyable memories. I have always felt that we understand each other.

Lithuania is now a free, European state. You can look back on a tough history, but you have not allowed it to imprison you. For Finland Lithuania has become a close neighbour in Baltic Sea cooperation and a partner and future member of the European Union.

On the level of visits by heads of state, our countries already share a tradition. Both of our predecessors met in the context of working visits. I personally have had the pleasure of visiting Lithuania both officially just under three years ago and also unofficially in other contexts. On the ministerial level, there have been several visits per year in both directions. Contacts between officials are already an everyday feature. Trade, cultural and other relations between our countries have likewise been developing positively.

However, there is also a need for critical observations. I know that you have drawn attention to the imbalance in trade between our countries and to the fact that there is still room for improvement in our knowledge of each other. I can concur with your view. A lot remains to be done in those respects. Although the state authorities have a relatively limited role, they can speed matters up and ensure that the preconditions for development are met.

With that in mind, we have wanted to use the opportunity of this visit to give the Lithuanian business sector a chance to present its capabilities and seek avenues for cooperation. Our combined efforts will make it possible to bring about a change in the right direction.

I am happy to note also that Finnish enterprise has a growing interest in Lithuania as a cooperation partner and investment location. Recent proofs of this include a decision by our Sonera and Sweden’s Telia to buy Lietuvos Telekomas as well as the investments that Hartwall, Kemira and Metsä-Serla have made in your country — and that is to mention only a few of many examples. I know also that several Finnish companies in the banking and health-care sectors are on the look out for cooperation partners in Lithuania.

On the cultural side, we must cherish the traditions of relations between us that began as long ago as the latter half of the 19^th century. After a long separation, there is a self-evident need to develop cultural exchanges.

Therefore it gives me great satisfaction that a cultural agreement between us is being signed during your visit. I believe that it and the action programme which, hopefully, is soon to be drafted will provide a strong foundation for our cultural relations and stimulate their further development.

Mr. President, we have been following with admiration your country’s efforts to meet the requirements for faster progress in negotiations to join the EU. These efforts have already yielded good results. In its recent report on progress, the Commission notes that positive development has taken place in Lithuania. Finland has supported your efforts in this respect and will continue to do so both in the context of bilateral cooperation and as an EU member. We are in favour of a brisk timetable for launching pre-accession negotiations.

For Finland and Lithuania, the Baltic Sea is a natural region for common international endeavours. As a member, Finland also wants to strengthen the role of the EU in developing the sea and its surrounding region. One demonstration of this is our initiative concerning the European Union’s Northern Dimension.

The initiative gives also Lithuanians the opportunity to take part in international cooperation with a view to enhancing stability, and to develop their own country. We are pleased to be able to outline the initiative to you during your visit.

We in Finland appreciate Lithuania’s active contribution to regional cooperation in the Baltic Sea and your work to promote good-neighbourly relations. Your country’s position and the line that you have adopted offer excellent potential for you to act as a bridge-builder in the region. I could see that for myself just over a year ago when I had the honour to visit Vilnius for a meeting of heads of state from the Baltic Sea countries. I would like to encourage you to continue your efforts in this sector, because I believe that this line serves our shared goal — promoting stability and development in the Baltic Sea region and the whole of Europe.

To these goals and the developing cooperation between Lithuania and Finland, to the success of the Lithuanian people and to the good health of yourself and your wife, I now propose a toast.

I sveikata! - To your health!