ADDRESS BY PRESIDENT McALEESE AT A STATE DINNER HOSTED BY H.E. MR. RICARDO LAGOS ESCOBAR
ADDRESS BY PRESIDENT McALEESE AT A STATE DINNER HOSTED BY H.E. MR. RICARDO LAGOS ESCOBAR AND MRS. LUISA DURAN DE LAGOS, SANTIAGO
Mr. President, Mrs. Lagos, Distinguished Guests, Ladies and Gentlemen,
I am delighted to be here this evening at the kind invitation of the President and Mrs. Lagos and to share this occasion with all of you, representatives of the Chilean nation, Chilean and Irish commercial enterprises and members of the Chilean-Irish community.
This is my first visit to Chile although it is not of course all that long since I had the pleasure of welcoming the President and Mrs. Lagos to Ireland. I very much appreciated our meetings of last July and it is my strong hope that this visit will further strengthen the longstanding friendship between our two countries. Thank you also for the warm hospitality, which I have received since my arrival. I have been profoundly impressed by all that I have heard and seen, not least by this vibrant and attractive city with its wonderful historical architecture so brilliantly preserved in the face of your recent dynamic growth.
My visit reflects the strong ties between Ireland and Chile which go back many generations, notwithstanding the many thousands of miles which separate our two homelands.
Nowhere, perhaps are those ties more notable than in the person of Ambrose O’Higgins of County Sligo, who reached the highest political office in eighteenth-century Chile and is remembered both here and in Ireland as a champion of liberal beliefs in an era of tyranny and slavery. Ambrose’s son, the great Liberator of Chile, Bernardo O’Higgins is of course even more widely known and respected, but he too was not alone in his heroic exploits in Chile’s struggle for independence. Other remarkable Irishmen active in this great effort included the distinguished writer and political figure, Juan MacKenna and one of the founders of the Chilean navy, George O’Brien.
The Irish settlers who followed O’Higgins and MacKenna were active in the consolidation of Chilean independence and in particular in the construction of the railways that helped establish the new nation and make trade with Europe and North America possible. It is perhaps especially fitting therefore, that our excellent communications infrastructure and integration into the globalised world economy are amongst the greatest strengths of both our countries today.
We in Ireland have greatly welcomed Chile's return to its long-established democratic ways, and have admired the manner in which you are seeking to ensure that growing economic prosperity is accompanied by increasing social cohesion. You know you have the good wishes of Irish hearts in all you do and all you hope for.
Mr. President, I am aware that your personal contribution to Chile's development in this regard has been especially significant and I would like to pay tribute to it this evening. Your guiding principle throughout has been the desire to achieve national reconciliation. We know from the troubled history of our own island, that this is no easy task and that future relationships must be built on the values of mutual respect, equality and consent. On the basis of our own experience, we can therefore particularly appreciate Chile’s achievements of recent years.
In many ways, Chile’s rapid economic expansion over the past decade is also similar to our own. Ireland, like Chile, is now a prosperous country thanks to our open trading economy. It is my hope that this growth will allow Chile and Ireland to draw closer together as suppliers, customers and, we hope, as partners in third countries.
In this regard, I have been accompanied on this visit by a high-level Enterprise Ireland business delegation. Its members represent significant Irish companies, many of which are known around the world for their skills and expertise. Their presence is a concrete indication of a desire on the part of Irish business people to advance trade between our countries. Indeed, according to our latest trade figures, Chile is already Ireland’s second most important trade partner in South America.
Mr. President, as you will be aware, membership of the European Union has had a transforming influence on Ireland. It has helped to offset our geographic isolation at the periphery of Europe and enhanced our sense of confidence as a nation. Its direct and indirect influence on our economic development has also been very significant.
Ireland is currently holding the Presidency of the European Union for the sixth time and will have the great honour on 1 May of leading the celebrations to formally welcome ten new Member States into the Union. This expansion of the European Union from fifteen to twenty five Member States represents a major achievement by the accession countries and by the existing members of the Union.
As Presidency, we are determined to foster the Union’s relationship with other regions and are therefore particularly looking forward to leading the enlarged EU delegation of twenty-five Member States at the European Union - Latin America Summit in Mexico in May.
Ireland’s membership of the European Union has improved opportunities for our own co-operation with Chile. The successful conclusion last year of the association agreement between the EU and Chile is a good example of both sides’ desire to develop the fullest potential of our existing friendship. This ambitious and innovative agreement entails significant benefits for both Chilean and Irish companies in the form of increased trade and co-operation and also enhances their competitiveness in third country markets.
Ireland and Chile are also linked by our strong support of multilateral activity at the United Nations and in other international fora. As you know, Mr. President, Ireland was a member of the Security Council during 2001 and 2002, elected there as a small country with a strong tradition of involvement in peacekeeping, development assistance and in speaking out on behalf of those without a voice of their own. The responsibility of Security Council membership passed last year to Chile and I know that Chile and Ireland share the view that small countries must play their full role in this vital multilateral institution.
Chile is in many ways the country setting an example in South America and I very much look forward, Mr President, to witnessing the unfolding of the fullest potential of the historic but also increasingly close bilateral contemporary relationship between modern Chile and modern Ireland.
I would like to propose a toast to President and Mrs. Lagos and to Chilean-Irish cooperation and friendship.