SPEECH
BY THE PRESIDENT OF THE REPUBLIC OF FINLAND, MR.
MARTTI AHTISAARI
AT A BANQUET IN HONOUR OF PRESIDENT RUTH DREIFUSS
OF THE SWISS CONFEDERATION IN HELSINKI ON 30.9.1999
I am very pleased that
you, Madam President, are our guest here today. I
regard your visit as a new demonstration of the warm
friendship that has developed between our countries
over the years, especially since the Second World
War. As we are both European states, our peoples know
each other well and our bilateral relations are
gratifyingly close and free of problems.
Alongside our official
contacts, our friendship society and other
Finnish-Swiss organisations have had important roles
in caring for relations between our countries. A
constantly growing number of our companies have
likewise been finding each other as partners. Our
trade and economic relations have been developing
well and prospects for them are promising.
We can perhaps try to
develop our bilateral relations further also in other
areas in which both Finland and Switzerland are
strong. I am convinced that an interest in and
openings for cooperation are to be found in both
science and technology and the sphere of culture.
Finland is half way
through her first term in the Presidency of the
European Union. We have taken the task seriously. For
a small nation like ours, wholehearted participation
in European cooperation is especially important. We
want to play a part in building a Europe that is as
united, democratic and open to the surrounding world
as possible.
We have been following
with great interest the recent development of
relations between Switzerland and the European Union.
The signing of seven bilateral agreements last June
marked a significant step in your country’s
cooperation with the Union. It has given us great
satisfaction to note how very positively the
agreements were dealt with at a special session of
your parliament in late August. We have every reason
to believe that also the ratification process will
proceed without delay on both sides and lead to the
earliest-possible entry into force of the agreements.
Finland will continue
to support Switzerland’s efforts to achieve
closer ties with the European Union and participate
as fully as possible in the integration of our
continent.
Finland’s and
Switzerland’s views on many international issues
have been very close to each other. We have had
active and constructive cooperation in many
international frameworks. I need mention only the
examples of the Council of Europe, the Conference on
Security and Cooperation in Europe and its successor
body the OSCE, the European Free Trade Association
and many of the UN special agencies. I am convinced
that this cooperation will continue.
Events in the Western
Balkans have been very difficult for the population
of the region. They have also posed completely new
challenges with respect to the international
community’s ability and will to manage crises.
It was thanks to resolute action on the part of the
international community that a political solution to
the most recent crisis in Kosovo was achieved last
June. Now we face the difficult challenges of
restoring trust and rebuilding society and the
economy there.
The situation in the
Western Balkans and especially Kosovo has closely
affected also Switzerland, because a considerable
number of people from the region live in your
country. You have shouldered a major burden in
helping to take care of the problems caused by floods
of refugees. The strong tradition of humanitarianism
that the people of Switzerland share with their
political leaders has undoubtedly been of great help
in this respect.
We have noted
Switzerland’s active interest in the Stability
Pact for South-Eastern Europe and the new
international bodies that are being established under
its terms. This interest matches our image of your
country; from the very beginning, Switzerland has
been an important helper and advisor in efforts to
achieve lasting, democratic and peaceful solutions.
We hope your country will be able to make a full
contribution to the peace process and the work of the
bodies being established to further it. The first
meeting of the so-called democracy working table in
Geneva in the near future will provide an especially
visible opportunity for this.
I have a good deal of
personal experience of Switzerland from the time that
I lived in your beautiful and friendly country. My
visit together with my wife nearly two years ago
likewise left many warm memories.
I hope this visit of
yours to Helsinki will leave you with a positive
picture of our country.
Now let me propose a
toast to your good health, to the prosperity of the
Confederation and the Swiss people as well as to the
further development of the exemplary relations that
Finland and Switzerland enjoy.
