Tasavallan presidentti Niinistön englanninkielinen puhe Tromssan yliopistolla 12. lokakuuta:

Our Common Arctic Future

Your Royal Highness, Esteemed Principal, Ladies and gentlemen,

I find it important to visit Tromsø in my first state visit to Norway. With the world's northernmost university as its academic heart, your city is in a key position as Norway, Finland and other countries progress towards their Arctic future. I would like to present a few Finnish perspectives on that future and outline some areas in which Finland and Norway could move closer to one another.

The Arctic region is going through an enormous change. This summer another new record was set in Arctic ice cap melting, exceeding all the estimates made so far. To understand the consequences of this change comprehensively it is essential that we have the best and most up-to-date information at our disposal. Tromsø has a central role in this regard for two reasons. First of all, the University of Tromsø and the Fram Centre are top class institutions in Arctic research. Secondly, the secretariat of the most important forum for Arctic issues, the Arctic Council, is located here.

Ladies and gentlemen,

The Arctic issues are large in scale and multidimensional by nature. The opening of the North East Passage has potentially a huge effect on the global trade routes. Similarly the untapped oil and gas deposits of the Arctic will undoubtedly change the global energy market. Not to mention the global dimension of the Arctic environmental threats. The good news is that the special characteristics of these issues encourage us to confront them together. The overall development of the region is a common task for all the Arctic states.

Finland does not have a shoreline on the Arctic Ocean. Nevertheless, Finland is an Arctic country. We do have long traditions in seafaring and shipbuilding. Finnish polar explorer A. E. Nordenskiöld was the first to achieve complete crossing of the North East Passage. The Azipod propeller and other solutions which have advanced icebreaker technology were developed in Finland. We therefore believe that we can get along in cold waters. The Arctic Ocean is an ocean of opportunities for us too.

But it is not just the sea areas that matter. Many of the Arctic opportunities lie on the shore. This is also where there is a huge untapped potential for cooperation between Norway and Finland. I hope and believe that we can become important Arctic partners in the future. We have a common border, close contacts and mutually complementary expertise. Recently established Nordic border-crossing service is a good example of the good work we have done. Lowering the barriers of border-crossing increases the social and cultural contacts between our countries. This is what Nordic cooperation should really be about: making the everyday lives of the people easier.

Our relations are well-functioning, but we can still do better in many ways. Let’s take for example tourism. In both Norway and Finland Arctic service production and tourist industry are important sources of livelihood. From a greater distance, a tourist sees the Arctic regions of Norway and Finland as a single destination. Therefore it would be worth investigating how the partly differing tourism products of Finnish Lapland’s and Norway's fjord areas, as well as northern harbour towns, might complement each other. We could join forces in the international tourism market.

Another good example is the extractive sector. Finland has initiated a specific green mining programme. The purpose is to make Finland a global forerunner in the sustainable and eco-efficient mineral industry by 2020. I believe that this goal will be easier to achieve with the support of our neighbours Norway and Sweden. Important first step is to launch a joint centre of expertise for the extractive industries. This would increase our knowledge base and expertise. It would also create a broader base of clean tech innovations in the North.

We also share a common goal of developing the Arctic transport infrastructure. Close partnership with Norway could provide Finland with a natural route to the Arctic Ocean. This would stimulate the economy on both sides of the border. In addition we should make full use of the already existing Northern Dimension Partnership on Transport and Logistics. Finland and Norway could play a central role in such work.

Esteemed researchers and students,

I have described a few areas in which Norway and Finland could form a strong Arctic partnership. Across all sectors, research and development will be the cornerstone. As we know, in frozen ground cornerstones must be strong and tightly bound together. The work you do here in Tromsø is keeping our joint Arctic future on the right track. I would like to thank you and encourage you to create research and learning environments on which Norway and Finland can rely when moving towards their joint Arctic future.

Thank you!