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Mr Kimmo Sasi Dinner speech 23.8. 2001 on the occasion of the visit of the Minister of Foreign Affairs of Hungary, Mr János Martonyi
Mr Minister, dear Hungarian and Finnish guests, -It gives me a great pleasure to welcome you to this dinner banquet. The close relations between our countries extend to all sectors of society. This was last evidenced two weeks ago in the town of Jyväskylä. The President of Hungary, Ferenc Mádl, attended the Fifth International Congress of Hungarian Studies as its patron and he also met President Halonen. - A special interest, which we Finns take in the kindred nation has proved to be solid also in the new Europe. The Finland - Hungary Association is one of the most active friendship associations with local associations in 55 towns all over Finland. - When it comes to our political relations, I would like to pick up an anecdote which illustrates the importance of Hungary to Finland. The Finnish parliament discussed a proposal to found new embassies in 1933. It was during The Great Depression and a powerful group of Members of Parliament opposed strongly any new expenses. Their argument was simple: "we don´t want more well-paid civil servants". Nevertheless, there was an exception. The foundation of the Finnish embassy in Budapest was approved. - The international economic development has weakened considerably this year. However, to my great delight, the trade between Finland and Hungary has continued to increase. In 2000 our bilateral trade reached USD 450 million. Our exports to Hungary increased by 34% and our imports increased by 20%. During the first five months of this year our exports to Hungary grew by 16 % and our imports from Hungary by 13 %. - Another example of the significant potential in our economic relations is the Finnish interest to establish a more permanent presence in Hungary. The investments by Finnish companies in Hungary total about USD 500 million. - One may ask, why the Finnish companies are so eager to settle down in Hungary? In my view, the Finnish companies have several good reasons for their interest. Hungary is favourably located in the integrating Europe. The infrastructure is good. The cost of production is moderate and the manpower well-educated. And the government policies have been providing incentives for investment. - And of course, we must not forget the excellent Hungarian cuisine and wine. We are also acquainted with the high standard of the cultural life in Hungary, and even have the pleasure to have some well-known artists of Hungarian descent in Finland(, such as the photographer - translator István Rácz, the painter Nandor Mikola, the sculptor Zoltán Popovits and the brothers, music teachers Géza and Csaba Szilvay). - Moreover, if a Finn feels homesick in Hungary, he can just close his eyes and listen to the hum of voices around him. There are not so many similar words in the Hungarian and Finnish languages, but the tone is the same. And finally, every August the Finns can spur their Formula 1 -drivers in Hungaroring. Last Sunday they were not as successful as a year ago, even though they found strong support also from the Hungarian home audience. Mr. Minister, - Around the table tonight we have excellent representatives of Finnish know-how in business, science and culture. There is a good reason for that. I am happy to let you know that after careful preparations we are getting closer in establishing a new Finnish institution in Hungary, which we might call "The Finnish Forum for Culture and Science or Finnagora". - The basic idea of the Forum is to create an extensive network linking together cultural, scientific, economic and non-governmental activities, and to offer services for this network utilising new technology. This is why the working title and the chosen concept is an open forum instead of a more stable institute. The aim of the network is to promote knowledge, know-how and co-operation in the fields of Finnish culture, science, economy, technology and citizen activities. Mr. Minister, - One of the most important priorities for both of our countries is to ensure that the enlargement of the European Union will be completed successfully. The Swedish Presidency did an excellent job and brought the process a big step forward. We are convinced that the Belgian Presidency will be able to do its share and proceed according to the road map. However, the negotiation chapters this autumn are complex and difficult both for the candidates and for the union members. At the end of the year, the Laeken European Council we will assess the progress made in the negotiations. The monitoring of the implementation and enforcement of acquis in the candidate countries will become more important. The development of administrative capabilities is an important part of this. - On the whole, we are very pleased with Hungary's achievements in the accession negotiations. Your country is one of the frontrunners, with 22 chapters already provisionally closed. Furthermore, Hungary is acknowledged as a pilot country, paving the way for other candidate countries to follow, in a number of difficult negotiation chapters. The latest pilot case is the chapter on justice and home affairs. - We would like to see the enlargement process completed as soon possible. There are, however, no short-cuts to membership - the negotiations require hard work by the candidate countries, the Commission and the member states. Finland continues to support Hungary's accession to the EU. We hope that Hungary will keep up the good work in the negotiations and look forward to welcoming Hungary to the Union soon and among the first new member states. Mr Minister, dear Hungarian guests. Once more let me wish you warmly welcome to Helsinki and propose a toast to your honor. Kedves egészségúkre!
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