SPEECH BY PRESIDENT MARTTI AHTISAARI AT A DINNER IN HONOUR OF
PRESIDENT GUNTIS ULMANIS OF LATVIA ON 4.11.1997

It gives my wife and me great pleasure to welcome you, Mr. President and Mrs. Ulmane, to this dinner arranged in honour of your visit to Finland. I am glad that we have been able to meet on three occasions within a short time. We met in Helsinki in March and at the "Good-neighbourly relations" conference in Vilnius in September. I had the opportunity to visit Latvia in August 1995. We also have warm memories of your last visit to Finland in December 1993.

Latvia has an important position in the Baltic Sea region. Riga has been one of the metropolises of northern Europe and may well develop into one again.

In our discussions today we have examined the present situation in Europe and in the part of our continent that is closest to us, the Baltic Sea region. Here in our corner of Europe a lively and effectively-functioning network is developing on every level of the life of society.

Regional cooperation is being practised in several forms in the Baltic today. An important body in this respect is the Council of Baltic Sea States (CBSS), the Presidency of which Latvia held with distinction during the last term. The CBSS will continue to provide a forum for increasingly diverse forms of cooperation in our region. All of the states around the Baltic from Germany to Russia are participating in its work. Traditional Nordic cooperation and cooperation between the Baltic States are likewise important fields of work, which sometimes merge to give us so-called 5+3 collaboration. We greatly appreciate Latvia's activity in and contribution to the work done in concert by the Baltic States. We Finns and the other Nordic countries have learned how useful work of that kind is. It is also of first-rate importance in the process of European integration.

Enlargement of the European Union will increase prosperity and stability in our continent. Finland fully supports Latvia in her endeavour to win membership. We are prepared to support Latvia in her efforts to meet the criteria for accession.

Relations between our countries are becoming closer and increasingly comprehensive. Our peoples have shared historical experiences that have not always been easy for small nations. This has, however, created a basis for a shared European identity and for many of the features that our national institutions can be seen to have in common, and which make relations between our peoples so uncomplicated.

Prospects for a continuing positive development of relations between our countries are good. Recent times have seen a favourable development of economic ties between Finland and Latvia, and we have become one of your most important trade partners. Our exports to Latvia exceed our exports to some EU countries. Finnish companies have also been prominent among investors in your country.

Cooperation between Finland and Latvia is increasing and diversifying all the time. It has traditionally been on an extensive scale in environmental questions and in the policing and rescue services sector. Home and legal affairs will play an important role in the future. We are glad that Finland has been able to share her know-how with Latvia in this sector.

A special reason for celebration this evening is that visas will no longer be required for travel between our countries from this week onwards. It is a considerable step forward in our relations and will certainly increase and deepen interaction between our peoples. It will facilitate trade and business links. I hope that open doors will entice broader circles of people to move between our countries and promote our mutual understanding of each other.

Even one person can do a lot to promote understanding between peoples. For years, Mr. President, you have had an excellent representative here in Helsinki in the form of Anna Zigure, the Doyenne of the Diplomatic Corps. Through her personal contribution she has admirably demonstrated the importance of the individual person in the development of relations between countries. Her recently published book "And Yet So Close …" movingly tells Finnish readers about the recent history of the Latvian people, how they preserved their culture in difficult circumstances and of the new renaissance. She appositely describes the relations between our countries and how they have grown firmer in recent years when she writes: "Latvia would not at this time have the strength to help Finland materially, nor, thank Providence, is there any need for that. Instead, Latvia can give something of her rich experience of life. She can teach how to survive with a positive outlook despite difficulties." In view of the rapid development that has taken place in Latvia, it is easy to agree with those sentiments.

The shadows of past decades are disappearing in the Baltic Sea region. Our region is part of the totality of European security, the structures of which are still assuming shape, but in which nothing dramatic is to be expected, nor is it needed. Every country in the region freely arrives at its own solution where security is concerned. At the same time, efforts are being stepped up in the Baltic Sea region to make cooperation more active and links closer. We have fora and instruments in abundance. Everyday relations in many areas strengthen mutual trust and guarantee balanced and safe development in our region and its future prosperity.