State Visit from Finland: His Majesty The King´s speech

President Stubb and Mrs Innes-Stubb,
Excellencies,
Ladies and gentlemen,

It is a great pleasure for the Queen and I to welcome you to Norway. Norway and Finland have a long tradition of very close ties, and we are pleased to be here together with good friends this evening.

President Stubb, we know you to be a friend of Norway. Your first trip abroad as President was to the Nordic Response military exercise carried out in Finnmark in the north of Norway this past March – a visit we greatly appreciated. The Queen and I have visited to Finland several times and we have had the honour of receiving various Finnish presidents. These visits serve to build good relations between countries as well as friendships between us as people.

In fact, one of the advantages of close neighbours that are republics is that there is somewhat greater frequency to your inaugural visits than among our Swedish and Danish friends.

A great deal has changed since our State Visit to Finland in 2016. The new security policy landscape emerging in Europe, in light of Russia’s war against Ukraine, has shown us how important it is to stand united for peace and security. The friendship between Norway and Finland has grown even closer. Of course, our common values and the Nordic social model we share also play a part in this.

Finland’s history has been shaped by dramatic events as well as by pragmatic decisions. In the face of adversity, you have fought courageously to safeguard freedom and independence. The most recent historic decision taken by Finland was to become a member of NATO. Today, Finland and Norway are not just good neighbours, with the 736 kilometre border we share in the north, we are also close allies. In this context, it is fitting to recall the quote often attributed to Finnish General Ehrnrooth after the Winter War: ‘Never again alone!’.

Finland and Norway also have a long-standing tradition of partnership in the business sector. We know each other well, which provides a solid foundation for even closer cooperation in areas such as renewable energy, carbon capture and storage, and technology development - where Finland is renowned for its focus on innovation and vibrant startup environment. I am pleased that issues relating to the green transition are on the programme for your visit to Bergen. The Nordic region and the world at large are facing major challenges and restructuring in the years ahead, and we must deal with these together.

The Finnish people have been ranked as the happiest in the world – for the seventh year in a row. To those not in the know, this may seem somewhat paradoxical. In Finland - as in Norway - it gets very dark and very cold. Which means we need ways to keep warm. Perhaps happiness is linked to the Finnish tradition that we in Norway have also learned to appreciate. The Finnish sauna culture, I have learned, promotes both health and well-being. I am no expert on this topic. However, I do know that one of the President's predecessors used to conduct diplomatic talks in the sauna. Many a dispute ended in compromise thanks to dry warmth and birch rods.

I will add that I can speak from personal experience in this area. Minus, however, the disputes and the birch rods.

One of the things that really brings us together is the love of sports - and especially winter sports. Few other countries have greater admiration for cross-country ski heroes and ski jumping stars than Norway and Finland. We are keen competitors in skiing races, and fortunately for us, we are slightly ahead in the rankings – at least for the time being. I am looking forward to exciting contests at the Nordic World Ski Championships in Trondheim this winter.

I imagine you can tolerate our being a bit ahead of you in skiing, since you are several pucks ahead of us in ice hockey. I suspect that you are also several steps ahead of us in the very unique Finnish sport of wife-carrying. I would like to ask that we not practise that particular sport here at the Royal Palace this evening.

We Norwegians are very fond of Finnish culture. We like the distinctive Finnish design and fashion aesthetic, Finnish films - and we enjoy Finnish music. Finland and Norway also share a common fondness for music of the heavy metal variety - which is a well-known export from both our countries. We actually considered this kind of music as part of the entertainment this evening, but decided it was not a good idea. We did not want to risk those of us who are a bit older going home with our ears ringing.

And finally: Finnish literature, which has a widespread readership here in Norway.  Norwegian children across the country beg for ‘one more page, please’ when listening to the Moomindalen books – by one of Finland's great authors, Tove Jansson – being read aloud. In one of these, Moominmamma says: ‘All nice things are good for you,’. That is very fitting to quote here among our good friends this evening.

In times of uncertainty, we often look towards what is hopeful, what is positive. As Nordic neighbours with common values, it is important to think carefully about much of what we take for granted - our peace and our freedom. We must protect the values ​​on which our societies are based: democracy, the rule of law and diversity.

And with that, I would like to propose a toast to the President of the Republic of Finland, to the Finnish people and to the excellent neighbourly relations between our two countries.

Kippis and skål!