Keynote speech by H.E. Mr Martti Ahtisaari, President of the

Republic of Finland

Singapore, January 27, 1995

Excellencies, Ladies and Gentlemen,

I am pleased to have the opportunity to address this

distinguished audience of leaders of Singaporean business,

finance and industry.

I am ending my visit to Southeast Asia in Singapore, which

is usually the first destination for Finnish companies when

they start operating in Asia. Some 60 Finnish companies are

established in Singapore and operate in other parts of

Southeast and East Asia from this base.

Singapore is also of great importance to Finland as a centre

of international finance. That is why I met here today -

almost by accident - our Minister of Finance, Mr Viinanen,

who delivered his message at our seminar this morning.

Singapore has set an example in economic growth and

development to its neighbours. Economic growth in Southeast

and East Asia has been most impressive in recent years.

These regions are developing into economic powers comparable

in every respect with Europe and North America.

Finland became a member of the European Union at the

beginning of this year. It was our greatest political

decision since the Second World War. Acceding to the Union

was vital for Finland in many ways. I am convinced that

joining the EU improves the prospects for sound and dynamic

development of the Finnish economy. As a member of the

Union, Finland commits itself to the common economic and

monetary goals of the EU. We subject our decision-making

essentially to the same rules as the other Western European

economies, thereby enhancing our predictability in the eyes

of foreign investors.

During our seminar this morning you have heard accounts of

Finnish industry and some of our leading companies. The

companies present here today are all global operators. Asia,

and especially the most dynamic region Southeast Asia, is of

utmost importance for Finland and for Europe in general.

Europe and Asia, and in particular the European Union and

the ASEAN region, have developed an interdependence of great

value, also on a global scale.

As a new member of the EU, Finland encourages intensified

cooperation with Asia. The Union's new Asian strategy

provides a good basis for developing a more balanced

partnership that takes into account and also respects

differences between national cultures and traditions. In

many respects this dialogue can be regarded as an essential

driving force in strengthening ties with Asia.

I therefore welcome the proposal made by the Prime Minister

of Singapore for the organization of a Europe-Asia summit

before the end of this year.

The very substantial changes that have taken place in recent

years in Finland's geoeconomic and geopolitical position

have created new business opportunities for overseas

companies there. Our membership of the European Union means

that, through Finland, foreign companies now have unlimited

access to a huge single European market of nearly 400

million people.

We are convinced that there would be many opportunities for

cooperation between Finnish and Singaporean companies in

third markets. Finland has plenty of advanced technology

well suited to the vast infrastructure projects going on in

Asia. Finland is very competitive, and even a world leader

in the sectors where demand is now strongest; in

telecommunications, energy, forestry and environmental

technology. High-technology or technology-intensive products

make a major contribution to our exports here.

Over 10 years ago, Finland embarked on the road of

increasing the role played by high technology in exporting.

The proportion of high-tech products in our exports, as

measured by the OECD, rose from four per cent in 1980 to 16

per cent in 1993. We are not yet in the leading group of

Japan, the United States and the United Kingdom, which have

over 20 per cent, but we are already in the next group of

between 15 and 20 per cent, with Germany and Sweden.

Finland has always been a strong proponent of the open

multilateral trading system. We worked actively for the

success of the GATT Uruguay Round. We must, however,

recognize that we will be dealing with complicated issues

within the framework of the WTO. For instance, we certainly

support efforts to improve labour standards and standards of

environmental protection, but we remain firmly opposed to

attempts to turn these efforts into protectionism of one

sort or another.

Parallel with developments in the GATT/WTO, we have been

following with keen interest the plans and recent

initiatives in the field of regional economic cooperation

and integration in Asia. We welcome the liberal spirit in

which these initiatives are being envisaged and implemented:

instead of creating barriers, they seem to aim at

facilitating market access. Thus they effectively complement

the GATT and the WTO, a development that I believe will be

in the interests of us all.

We also welcome Singapore's initiative to host the first

ministerial meeting of the WTO.

Ladies and Gentlemen,

Let me now propose a toast to your health and well-being, to

the continuous prosperity of Singapore and its people, and

to the further development of relations between our two

countries.