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Toast by Dr Janez Drnovšek at a Formal Dinner Hosted by H.E. Mrs Tarja Kaarina Halonen President of the Republic of Finland
Helsinki, Finland, 02/25/2004 | speech
Distinguished Madam President, Mr Arajärvi, Your Excellencies, Ladies and Gentlemen, dear friends,
It is indeed a great honour and true pleasure for me to be paying a visit to your beautiful and friendly country. Allow me to express my most profound gratitude for the warm welcome and heartfelt hospitality, which my delegation and I have experienced during our stay in Finland. I come to a country that is close to our own not only through the good relations we enjoy, but also through our common endeavours and expectations for the future.
On the 1st of May Slovenia will join Finland in full membership of the European Union. Today, as we look back on the path we have travelled, we note with great satisfaction that we have achieved a lot. We are well aware, however, that in spite of our resolve and courage we could not have done it without friends. Finland is without a doubt a country that has understood from the very beginning the great significance of a unified Europe, offering its support in crucial moments. We in Slovenia particularly appreciate the fact that eight years ago it was precisely Finland that was the first country to ratify the Association Agreement between Slovenia and the European Union. Ever since, contacts between Slovenia and Finland have only intensified, both politically and economically, as well as in other areas.
Madam President, dear friends,
Last year Finland carried on its rapid economic development and achieved a rate of growth higher than in other European Union Member States. The World Economic Forum and the World Bank both assess Finland as the country with the most developed information society and the most competitive economy in the world. Allow me therefore to express the respect that Slovenia feels towards Finland. Your country sets an example for Slovenia since you have achieved outstanding success in the promotion of economic growth and the development and strengthening of prosperity and security for your people. I am therefore hopeful that the scientific forum on the role of knowledge, science and competitiveness of small states, organised in the framework of my visit, will indeed fulfil its purpose. Slovenia holds very valuable your experience with interconnecting the state, science and the economy, a process yielding considerable results in Finland.
Slovenia is also hopeful that the favourable atmosphere of good and friendly relations can be put to its best use in enhancing our economic cooperation. With Slovenia's accession to the European Union new opportunities are appearing on the horizon. We are convinced that our two countries will be capable of using these opportunities to our mutual benefit. It is encouraging that trade between our countries is increasing. I am convinced that this trend will continue in the future as well and that joint efforts would lead us to a balance in trade relations. In this context I would also like to see my visit contribute to stronger economic cooperation. It is an opportunity for Slovenia to improve its level of recognition and that of its economic potentials, establishing new contacts between the members of the business delegation accompanying me and Finnish enterprises and institutions. Promoting direct contact between our entrepreneurs, investors and those working in tourism is deserving of every support and must be given priority.
Ladies and Gentlemen,
In spite of the geographic distance separating our two lands, Slovenia and Finland are very close. They are both smaller countries, oriented into the future, countries accustomed to hard work, linked not least by their commitment to European values. I am referring here to the significance we both ascribe to gender equality, minority protection, and promotion of human rights, as well as to sustainable development, social equilibrium and environmental policy. We share the belief that the European Union is not merely an integration of economic and political interests, but also a moral undertaking. We both are desirous of a Europe that would play an important role in resolving the burning global issues of poverty, the environment and inter-ethnic and inter-religious dialogue. That is why I should also like to avail myself of this opportunity to express my congratulations to you, Madam President, for your personal contribution in this field as co-chair of the World Commission on the Social Dimension of Globalization. I firmly believe that the report "A Fair Globalization: Creating Opportunities for All", which you presented in London yesterday, will contribute significantly to the search for solutions which our complex world of today is in need of, doing so in the spirit of European values.
Our two countries also share the belief that Europe's greatest advantage lies in its diversity, which in turn requires mutual patience and tolerance. Finland provided an extraordinary contribution to the establishment of intra-European dialogue during the Cold War when, following Finland's intervention and several years of intensive preparation, the Helsinki Final Act was adopted. Next year, as we will be marking the 30th anniversary of its signing, Slovenia will be presiding the Organisation for Security and Cooperation in Europe, successor to the Helsinki process. It is also with this in mind that I am counting on our political contacts enhancing in the coming months, since it is our shared will, strength and confidence that we must not merely follow contemporary developments in the world, but that we take part in these processes with equal roles and tasks, thus helping to shape them.
Ladies and Gentlemen,
Before concluding let me remind us of the fact that Slovenia and Finland also share an important historical experience. Our countries were established as modern states out of opposition to stronger forces and from the conviction that every nation shall be the author of its own fate. That is something that the people of Helsinki will be able to see for themselves tomorrow at the opening of the exhibition entitled "Over the Hill is Just Like Here", which unveils the European chapters of Slovenian history in the 20th Century. The noble longing for freedom was shared also by our greatest poets, authors of our national anthems, France Prešeren and Johan Ludvig Runeberg, both of whom supported the humanist vision of equality and the right to self-identity in the time of Europe's "springtime of nations". It is also for this reason that our plans and our cooperation must focus on the future, on the building of a new Europe of equal and closely interconnected nations contributing to our continent's shape and image both jointly and individually. A lot of work and many challenges thus lie ahead. But as a Finnish saying goes, "A new day shows a new way".
With these words, Madam President, Mr Arajärvi, Your Excellencies, Ladies and Gentlemen, allow me to raise a toast to friendship between our countries and our nations, to our common future, and to all of you, dear friends.
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