CLOSING REMARKS BY H.E. TARJA HALONEN

PRESIDENT OF THE REPUBLIC OF FINLAND

ON 8 SEPTEMBER 2000

This Summit has been a great success. The Millennium Declaration gives inspiration and guidance for the future of the United Nations. The Summit spirit has been excellent. Now the General Assembly has to continue the same spirit.

The clear message of the Summit has been that the world and its people need the United Nations. At the same time it is clear that we need to strengthen it and make it meet the needs of people in the outside world.

All the world’s leaders addressed globalisation and rightly so. Another important demand is the participation and input of the whole civil society.

My own experience is that the roundtable discussions were valuable. They gave us a chance to speak our minds and what is really important to us. The chairpersons have just given us their thought provoking reports on these discussions. These thoughts must find their way to the normal work of the United Nations. Roundtable discussions should be used also in the future. Their informal character adds a great deal to the UN’s normal way of working. This is the way to create the political will that we need to do what we want.

The Summit has been complemented by many side-events like the meeting of Women Leaders, Forum 2000, NGO-conference, and the Security Council Summit. They strengthen the spirit created in this Hall. We have also met bilaterally and discussed important issues that contribute to our common efforts. The Summit has also provided an excellent opportunity to tackle some of the most thorny issues.

I thank you, Mr. Secretary General, for your initiative to organize this Summit and all the preparations to make this Summit a success.

Now I should like to turn to my dear colleague, Sam Nujoma, and thank you for your devotion and tireless preparations for the Summit. It has been a great pleasure to work with you.

Dear colleagues, thank you for invaluable contribution and active participation in this Summit.