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President of the Republic at the Herakleion Town Hall on May 27, 1999
27.05.1999

Dear Mr. Mayor,

It was touching to hear you concentrate on culture in your speech. In fact, before World War II, Estonia was on the top of Europe as concerns different books published per capita. For centuries, we have been the outpost of Europe in the north. And we are glad that this mission, which Estonians have been fulfilling for 120 centuries, is also supported by our neighbours: Finland in the north, Sweden in the west, our friends in St. Petersburg in the east, and two Baltic countries in the south.

When talking about Estonia's mission in the Nordic region, I also speak about contacts between Greece and Estonia. 23 centuries ago, the Greek geographer Pytheas travelled from the Mediterranean to the Baltic Sea and described the long summer days and brief summer nights of the region, as well as our long nights and short days in winter. I only mention this historical tradition so that we could establish a strong basis for the future relations between the Republic of Estonia and the Republic of Greece. And I have reasons to believe that our economic, political, and especially cultural co-operation will be enhanced by this state visit, and by the prospect of our common future as EU member states.

But let us return to history for a moment: on our meetings with the President, the Prime Minister and the Chairman of Parliament of Greece, we decided to found the Pytheas Medal to reward those citizens of Estonia and Greece who have special merits in developing the co-operation between Estonia and Greece. I spoke of Estonia's ancient history that has not seen much migration, but mostly wars. They have left us many traditions, and when I revert to my former profession of a writer, I must say that I am very fond of books; and I am very glad that the Estonian word ''raamat'' comes from the language of the 9th century Greek missionaries and is a direct derivation from the Greek ''gramatos'', meaning the Bible.

I am glad to see the cloudless co-operation between our two countries, and to see how many common interests Estonian and Greek businessmen have. I was especially glad yesterday, when on our way back from the tomb of the Unknown Warrior; I met a young Estonian student studying here in Greece. I was even more overjoyed, when meeting many more such students at the evening reception. In Estonia, we have one of the most famous universities of Europe, founded in 1632, but of course it is important to be really in the middle of the culture that one is are studying. I hope that one day, I will meet a Greek student at my home university in Tartu.

 

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