Speech by President of the Republic of Finland Tarja Halonen at a dinner in honour of President of the Federal Republic of Nigeria Olusegun Obasanjo at the Presidential Palace on 17 November 2004

Mr. President, It is a great pleasure and honour for me to welcome you and your delegation to Finland. Nigeria is known for her cultural diversity, vast resources, successful athletes and above all its people. At the same time we are well aware of the great challenges your country and the whole African continent is facing.

You yourself, Mr. President, are a living example of the new kind of African leaders who are shaping the continent. After long military rule, Nigeria is now on the way to democracy. Your government has embarked on the road to show the world that a democratic multi-ethnic state based on respect for human rights and the rule of law can be built.

Nigerian National Economic Empowerment and Development Strategy, NEEDS, has been successful and praised as one of the best in Africa. Your conviction to curb corruption is valuable, even though a lot remains to be done in that field. Your government reform makes the public sector more accountable and transparent and it has started to show results. These are just a few examples of the changes that we in Finland have been pleased to note.

Efficient government action is needed to provide for social justice and more equal distribution of national wealth. These in turn will provide for better social stability in the society.

Mr. President, you and your delegation have today been surrounded by Finns who have been interested in this process of reforms. The role of women has been part of this discussion starting from concerns about the implementation of the Sharia law and ending to the delighting news of high and growing numbers of women in governmental positions in Nigeria.

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Mr. President, your responsibilities are not limited to Nigeria alone. As an eminent African statesman you have been entrusted with the chairmanship of the African Union. You are bearing the responsibility to shape the role of the African Union in difficult conflict situations, as in Darfur and most recently in Côte d'Ivoire.

The European Union’s relations with the African Union have grown rapidly in the past two years. The European Union is determined to strengthen ties with the African Union as well as sub-regional organizations.

I appreciate the African Union’s efforts to find political solutions to African conflicts and to bring peace throughout the continent. The European Union has created African Peace Facility, which enables the EU to support better African solutions to African problems. I also want to take this opportunity to bring to your attention that Finland supports the African Union’s Peace Fund by direct contributions and is ready to do so in the future as well.

Nigeria and Finland have been participating actively in UN peacekeeping operations throughout the world. We commend your proven commitment to act for peace and security in Africa. Both of us also want to see a strengthened United Nations capable of fully assuming its role as the mainstay of development, peace and security in the World.

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Globalization has many faces and in Africa that face has been so far quite negative. At the moment only around one percent of the world's gross income is generated in Africa, and its share of foreign direct investment is less than one percent, while Africa is home to over ten percent of world’s population.

At the same there are a lot of opportunities for improvement, as Africa is a producer of many strategic raw materials and commodities and thus firmly networked with the world economy.

I am delighted that the African Union has adopted the report of the World Commission on the Social Dimension of Globalization, which I co-chaired with President Benjamin Mkapa of Tanzania. In our view globalization offers great opportunities, but at present its benefits are very unevenly shared and its costs are unevenly distributed among and within countries.

We believe that globalization could and should be a force for a brighter future for everyone. Unfortunately today’s globalization falls far short of this promise and needs to be made responsive to the needs of all people. We have proposed that the United Nations should be charged to follow-up the recommendations of the World Commission. In addition, national efforts are also required to create an enabling environment for reforms that are needed.

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Mr. President, I am pleased that a high-level business delegation is accompanying you on your visit to Finland. This has been a good opportunity to develop co-operation with the Finnish business community. An investment promotion and protection agreement, to be concluded early next year, will further facilitate economic co-operation between Finland and Nigeria.

Mr. President, you have stated that the policies you have initiated are just the beginning of a new dawn and that the sun is just now rising. I want to congratulate you in shaping the future of your country and of the whole of Africa with your vision. Nation building is indeed a formidable task, but I am sure that with your determination the seeds you have sown will soon begin to bear fruit.

I would like to present our nation's congratulations and best wishes to the people of Nigeria. Let us raise our glasses to your health and to the strengthening of cooperation between the peoples of Finland and Nigeria.