SPEECH BY THE PRESIDENT OF
THE REPUBLIC OF FINLAND
MR. MARTTI AHTISAARI
AT A DINNER HOSTED BY PRESIDENT MANUEL CHAVES
OF THE GOVERNMENT OF ANDALUSIA
3 FEBRUARY 1999
I wish to express my warm thanks
for the kind reception that you, Mr. President Manuel Cháves and
Señora Antonia Iborra, have arranged for us. Thank you also for
the friendly words that you have addressed to my country and to
me.
As a person who has visited Finland and held an influential
position in the previous Government of Spain, you are known and
appreciated as a friend of our country.
Relations between Finland and Spain have never been so close as
they are today. I am confident that our partnership in the
European Union since 1995 will lead to a deepening of cooperation
between our countries and peoples. The significance of
geographical distance is constantly declining and dealings
between countries are no longer limited to traditional diplomacy.
We all share a European identity and a will to make our continent
a community that we all own and run, a place where every
states, every regions own national and traditional
identity is preserved and enriches our cooperation. Integration
is an ongoing process and the prophet who could say where it is
taking us has not yet been born. Every generation sets its own
goals in that respect.
I am especially pleased that as part of this state visit I have
the opportunity to see one of Spains most important
autonomous regions and its renowned capital Seville. It is
exactly with Andalusia that we associate much of the romanticism,
sunny nature, old culture, culinary pleasures, friendly people
and gaiety that we denizens of the cold North seek in Spain.
Thousands of Finns have discovered this region and especially the
Costa del Sol as a place to make their second home and even more
- including me - choose Andalusia as their holiday destination. I
express my thanks for the kindness and hospitality that my
compatriots have always been accorded here.
Links between Finland and Andalusia go a lot further back than
the tourism that began in the 1960s. Our cooperation has much
deeper roots in history. The first example that I could mention
involves the lifework of that great Spanish writer, intellectual
and Andalusian native son Angel Ganivet. His classical book
"Cartas Finlandesas", which was first serialised
in the newspaper "El Defensor de Granada", sets
forth the impressions that he formed while serving as a consul in
Helsinki in 1896-97. Thus it is fair to say that the first large
group of people in Spain to obtain knowledge about faraway
Finland were the Andalusians. Now that we are living in
completely different circumstances and have been getting to know
each other better and better, it is interesting to note that
Ganivets observations and his comparisons between the
Finnish and Andalusian ways of life and customs are still
apposite even after the passage of a century. Another literary
figure that I want to mention is Federico García Lorca, whose
poetry describing the cultural and social traditions of Andalusia
have found a permanent place in the hearts of the Finns and
inspired also our artists. November last year saw the publication
of a collection of poems, produced jointly by Finns and Spaniards
and entitled "Entre el Sisu y el Embrujo".
Finland and Andalusia share a love of music. I know that Finnish
composers and musicians are esteemed here, as the Sibelius
programme performed by the Lahti Philharmonic at the famous music
festival in Granada last summer demonstrated. And, of course, the
melancholy Finnish tango has won many adherents at Granadas
international festival. For us Finns, the flamenco and the
sevillanas have likewise always symbolised the rich music and
dance culture of Andalusia. Although we are sometimes described
as stiff, the rhythms of the flamenco have always gripped us.
Thus it is not surprising that in recent years more and more
Andalusian artists and top-level directors have featured on the
programmes of Finlands many dance festivals and schools.
They have helped give enthusiastic Finnish audiences a taste of
the atmosphere for which Sevilles Feria de Abril festival
is famous.
Andalusia and its capital Seville have been among the great world
centres for centuries. During the great voyages of exploration
and afterwards, Latin America and other Spanish possessions were
administered from here. Seville became a focal point of world
attention again seven years ago when the EXPO-92 world fair was
held here. We know that it was one of the most successful of all
time. I am pleased that Finlands participation in EXPO-92
was a success and that our distinctive pavilion "Hells
Gorge" is still in use serving as a showpiece of
architecture and a venue for exhibitions.
Economic cooperation between Finland and Andalusia is likewise of
central importance in our relations. As the worlds leading
olive oil producer, you will certainly be pleased to hear that
this healthy ingredient is featuring more and more prominently in
Finnish diets.
In addition to your foodstuffs, we in Finland also hold your
industrial products in high esteem. In return, our traditional
export items paper and pulp and in recent years new products like
telecoms equipment have found steady markets in Andalusia. Our
copper industry has also invested in your region.
I am aware of the great influence that this autonomous region
wields within Spain and of the importance of Andalusian companies
in the Spanish economy. Therefore I hope that your direct
contacts with Finland and its economic sector will continue to
expand and grow in liveliness.
In the same conjunction as I express my thanks for this dinner,
may I propose a toast to you, Mr. President Manuel Chaves
González and Señora Antonia Iborra, to the success of the
Government and people of Andalusia and to Finno-Andalusian
friendship.