(Translation)
SPEECH BY THE PRESIDENT OF THE REPUBLIC OF FINLAND MARTTI AHTISAARI AT A DINNER HOSTED BY THE SENATE OF HAMBURG ON 25.9.1998
A Finn feels very much at home in Hamburg. My earliest
personal memories of your city date from 1960, when I visited
here.
Finland and Hamburg are bound by centuries-old ties in the fields
of culture and science and especially business. As early as the
Middle Ages, Hamburg became a powerful Hanseatic gateway to the
North Sea and the world. In 1550 King Gustavus Vasa of Sweden
founded the seaport that would later become our capital,
Helsinki, to serve as an instrument of his trade policy in
opposition to the Hanseatic League. Gustavus wanted to build a
port on the northern shore of the Gulf of Finland to capture a
share of the lucrative trade that Hamburg and Lübeck were then
plying with Russia through Tallinn.
The Hanseatic League passed into history long ago, but the
importance of Hamburg and its port to us Finns has not
diminished; on the contrary, Finland is today the third-biggest
customer of Hamburg, which is Europes second-biggest port.
Both being port cities, Helsinki and Hamburg are competitors on
one level, but at base they are more cooperation partners. King
Gustavus Vasa would be pleased if he knew how well his vision of
Helsinki as a transit port in East-West traffic had been
realised. Today, a large part of Russias foreign trade
flows through Finnish ports.
A further fact highlighting the quite special importance of
Hamburg to Finland is that our country opened a legation here in
1918, in the early months of our existence as an independent
state. Today, the presence of the Finnish Consulate-General is
very visible to everyone in Hamburg. The golden lions along the
roof of the building in which it is housed see to that.
Our Consulate-General in Hamburg has become an important part of
our network of diplomatic missions since the Finnish Embassy was
transferred to Berlin.
As I mentioned in my address to the Übersee-Club, the end of
division in Europe offers enormous opportunities, especially in
the Baltic Sea region. Here, however, I would also like to make a
brief mention of our initiative concerning what we call the
Northern Dimension of the EU. Our purpose in presenting this
initiative was to bring about a consistent EU policy with respect
to the northern regions of Europe. The aim of this policy would
be to help link Russia into the world economy. In the light of
recent events, that goal has become even more important than it
already was. The Northern Dimension policy aims to promote
eastward enlargement of the EU and to ensure that the goals of
the Unions strategic energy policy are achieved. It gave me
pleasure to read that the programme for government worked out
between the coalition partners states that Hamburg considers
itself to be "part of the Baltic Sea region as defined by
the EU". In the Baltic Sea policy outlined by the Senate,
Hamburg is characterised as both the easternmost port of the
North Sea and the westernmost of the Baltic. You, Mr. First
Mayor, have outlined also other interesting aspects. I have noted
with great satisfaction your lively interest in cultivating
relations with the states fringing the Baltic. I applaud
Hamburgs determination to take an active part in
revitalising the Baltic Sea region. Our shared goals are of
first-rank importance for the future of Europe.
Finland and Germany are united by a natural partnership, which
has gained in depth since Finland joined the European Union. Our
cooperation within the Union is effective and close. Next year,
Finland and Germany will have their turns in the EU Presidency
and thus will together lead Europe into the new millennium.
Finland will be the only Nordic country to adopt the euro at the
beginning of next year. It is no coincidence that the only female
member of the board of the European Central bank is from Finland.
In 1906 Finnish women became the first in the world to achieve
full political rights. Womens share of leading positions in
our society is impressive.
Germany has been Finlands most important trade partner for
many years. Hamburg and northern Germanys share of this
trade is greater than average. And Hamburgs share will grow
even further over the next few years when the Airbus aircraft
that Finnair has ordered are assembled in Finkenwerder.
The Museum of Ethnology in Hamburg is currently presenting the
Finnish exhibition "Bears and Log Cabins", which puts
in perspective the importance of forests to us Finns. It is
natural that forest products represent about 40 per cent of our
exports to Germany. But to us forests also mean rest and
recreation. One-tenth of our forests are in protected
environments. Large numbers of people from Hamburg visit us each
year to enjoy our countrys natural beauty and clean
environment. High standards of environmental protection and
sustainable forestry are maintained in Finland. That is a point
we are particularly pleased to make in Hamburg, where
environmental awareness has a very special status.
That is not to say that Finland is forests and nothing more. Our
country is a leading world manufacturer of cellphones. We also
hold a world record as users of these devices:
50 mobiles for every 100 people. In fact, Finland ranks second
only to the United States where using information technology is
concerned.
Hamburg-born Friedrich Pacius, an alumnus of the Johanneum,
composed our national anthem. A curious feature indicative of the
way in which the Baltic Sea region is growing together is that
the same melody is also the national anthem of the Republic of
Estonia, now again independent. Pacius, who worked as a kind of
"state composer" in 19th-century Finland,
blazed the trail for the richly-diverse cultural exchanges in
which Finland and Hamburg nowadays engage. Fortunately we have
been able to reciprocate for Pacius contribution in the
form of the singers, musicians and orchestras who often visit the
Staatsoper in Hamburg and the citys other concert halls.
Names like Matti Salminen, Karita Mattila and Esa-Pekka Salonen
are certainly familiar to many of you.
Mr. First Mayor, when your predecessor Mr. Voscherau visited
Helsinki a year and a half ago, we had an interesting discussion
of world events and the role in todays Europe of the states
around the Baltic. Since that conversation, the challenges facing
us have probably increased even more, but so too have the
opportunities that are there for us.
I thank you for your hospitality and this rewarding visit to your
city. I propose a toast to your good health, in honour of the
beautiful and lively Hanseatic city of Hamburg as well as to the
success of Finnish-German cooperation and of our shared Europe.