REMARKS BY PRESIDENT MCALEESE AT THE STATE DINNER, TUESDAY, 23 SEPTEMBER 2008
REMARKS BY PRESIDENT MCALEESE AT THE STATE DINNER, TUESDAY, 23 SEPTEMBER 2008
Domnule Preşedinte, Domni Miniştrii, Excelenţele Voastre, Doamnelor şi Domnilor
[Mr President, Ministers, Excellencies, Ladies and Gentlemen]
Bună seara. Sunt încântată să fiu prezentă la Palatul Cotroceni în această seară.
[Good Evening. I am delighted to be here in Cotroceni this evening.]
President Basescu, I would like to thank you for the very warm welcome you and
Mrs Basescu have extended to Martin and me.
I am privileged and very proud to be the first Irish President to pay a State Visit to Romania.
My visit marks an historic moment in our bi-lateral relations. You could say that Ireland and Romania have taken a long time to find one another. Geography positioned us on opposite flanks of Europe but really it was history rather than geography that until quite recently, made it difficult to express and to realise the natural empathy we have for one another and the interest we have in each other.
The ravages wrought on Romania by two world wars were followed by a half century of dictatorship. In Ireland we rejoiced with you when the Romanian people recovered their liberty. We supported you, too, in your aspiration to become Members of the European Union and were thrilled to welcome you into the Union’s enlarging family when the future of Ireland and the future of Romania became entwined. Now we are rapidly making up for history’s wasted opportunities.
I met today with many Irish people who have made their homes in Romania, and Romanians who have returned from time spent in Ireland. This continually expanding web of families and friendship, of person to person contact is of fundamental importance in developing our new relationship for it opens us up to each other’s language, culture, perspective and history. It builds the trust in one another that underpins good business partnerships and good government to government interactions. It builds our common European identity while showcasing and enhancing our own national identities.
The high quality of our cultural exchanges gives us much to celebrate already for the Ireland Romania Cultural Foundation has been active in both our countries for over ten years. We in Ireland feel privileged that Romanians of such great artistic talent and achievement should find inspiration in our culture, and I am glad that some of them are here tonight.
It is also no exaggeration to say that the M.A. in Irish Studies at the Babes-Bolyai University of Cluj, Cluj has been a driving force in the evolution of relations between Ireland and Romania and warm thanks are due to those who pioneered it.
Mr President, our two countries which already show considerable affinity in matters of the intellect and the imagination have huge potential in the areas of trade, commerce and investment and at an Ireland Romania business dinner last night the confidence of Irish business people in the dynamism of the Romanian economy was as palpable as it was reassuring.
Our membership of the European Union has radically altered life for both our peoples. We know that of itself membership does not guarantee success. We each have to work to seek, find, grow and develop the advantages and opportunities of membership. That is exactly what we do when we focus on our bilateral relations and set our faces to a future in which they are maximised to the best of our abilities. There is an Irish proverb that underlines this: “Ní neart go chur le chéile” – it is only by working together that we will be strong. It is a fitting description of the essential strength and genius of our Union. That we have such a Union, that we who were once so far apart are now partners in this great noble enterprise that is the European Union, is little short of miraculous. We who enjoy these times of freedom and newfound prosperity are despite its ups and downs, a truly blessed generation for unlike so many of our forebears we have a future to look forward to. What is more we will craft that future together in the company of good friends and good partners, in peace and in justice.
Mr President. Thank you for inviting me to your lovely country and for this opportunity to showcase our determination to invest in that future and to pursue it together.
I ask you to join with me now in a toast:
To the President and people of Romania and to friendship between our two countries.