SPEECH BY PRESIDENT OF THE REPUBLIC MARTTI
AHTISAARI
AT THE EXPORT AWARDS PRESENTATION CEREMONY
AT THE PRESIDENTIAL PALACE IN HELSINKI ON 17.2.1999
I have the honour to present three successful Finnish
companies with the Presidents Export Award. The winners
have succeeded excellently in their efforts to export their
products. That in itself is a significant achievement, but it is
not the only ground for conferring the award, nor even the most
relevant one. These companies deserve the award first and
foremost because of the exemplary way in which they seized the
opportunities that internationalisation has created.
The management and entire personnel of the prize-winning
companies made a timely observation that the international
environment in which they operate was changing, correctly
assessed the needs that flow from this and then created
successful business operations on this basis. Yet they are not
only international, but also Finnish. They are Finnish in origin,
their products are based on Finnish innovation and - most
importantly - their success benefits the Finnish economic sector
in its entirety. Only successful and competitive companies can
sustainably provide employment and increase the prosperity of the
Finns.
It is no longer enough for products to be good and prices
competitive. Companies must be able to master global business in
all its aspects, they must be able to develop and apply new ways
of doing things and manage the risks that are inevitably
associated with internationalisation and growth.
Companies must become genuinely involved in their customers
operations and work together with them to ponder solutions to
their problems. Products must offer the customer a real benefit.
Matters that are becoming increasingly important in this respect
include an ability to participate in the clients
operational processes, tailoring products and services to the
customers needs, and developing and deepening customer
relations into a mutually-beneficial partnership.
It was largely by increasing exports that Finland managed to pull
out of the recession that hit us in the early years of the
decade. That required determination and exceptionally broad
cooperation. Also the President has tried to make his
contribution to this collective effort. In collaboration with
Finnish companies, numerous export promotion trips have been made
to growing markets and countries where the assistance of the
national leadership can be used to open new doors for our
companies. A major export promotion trip to Mexico will take
place next week, and then Finland and Finnish companies will have
been made the focus of attention in all of the worlds main
markets.
The President's Export Award was presented for the first time in
1967. Our linkage with the international economy was much more
tenuous in those days than it is now, and founded on more
conventional trade in goods. The winners in the early years were
traditional exporters who had been exceptionally successful in
marketing their products abroad. It is still important to
encourage this kind of work, but no longer enough. The awards in
recent years have gone to companies whose internationalisation
goes beyond traditional exports. This development is positive and
essential. It ought to be encouraged in every way. I now propose
that we consider whether the name of the Presidents Export
Award and the grounds on which winners are chosen should be
changed so that the award gives more encouragement to companies
to internationalise broadly, in a way that benefits Finland and
the Finns and helps create new jobs here. Could it be that in the
millennium soon to begin it would be more appropriate for us to
have a Presidents Internationalisation Award? I hope this
matter will be discussed.
I warmly congratulate the winners and wish them the best of
success.