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The President of the Republic welcomed the President of Finland
09.09.2003


The President of the Republic and Mrs Ingrid Rüütel this morning at Kadriorg welcomed the President of the Republic of Finland, Tarja Halonen, and Mr Pentti Arajärvi having arrived on an official visit to Estonia.

At the official welcoming ceremony in front of the Presidential Palace, the national anthem shared by Estonia and Finland was played. The Presidents inspected a guard of honour and were greeted by Estonian and Finnish high-ranking officials, members of the respective delegations. After the welcoming ceremony, the Presidents had a conversation, in the course of which also gifts were exchanged.

Then followed a meeting between the official delegations of the two countries headed by the Presidents, which addressed the versatile cooperation between Estonia and Finland both at present and in future. As the Estonian Head of State said, the relations between the two neighbouring countries also in future were to develop at several levels: as contacts between officials and private persons, in the framework of regional cooperation among both the Nordic Countries and the Baltic Sea States, and before long, hopefully, as cooperation between Member States of the European Union. President Rüütel added that, being small nations who valued the sustainable way of life, we were just obliged to cooperate.

President Tarja Halonen, too, attached importance to cooperation between neighbouring countries on regional matters and representing common interests of small peoples in the European Union, as well as to intercultural and so-called emotion-based contacts. According to the Finnish Head of State, the latter were grounded on mutual respect and trust manifesting themselves, among other things, in the invitation to visit Estonia shortly before the referendum. President Halonen assured that, at her meetings scheduled in Estonia, she was ready to talk openly about the Finnish experience in the European Union as well as about the apprehensions and prejudices spreading in Finland due to the imminent enlargement of the European Union.

After the meeting at Kadriorg, the Presidents left for the National Library where they delivered opening addresses at the Conference "National Self-Determination and Native Language Teacher".

This evening, the Estonian Head of State and Mrs Ingrid Rüütel will host a dinner in honour of the Finnish President and Mr Pentti Arajärvi. Tomorrow, the Presidents are going to visit the University of Tartu.


Office of the President
Kadriorg, September 9, 2003


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