Your Majesty King Harald V,
Your Majesty Queen Sonja,
Excellencies,
Ladies and Gentlemen,

The Republic of Estonia welcomes the Norwegian Majesties, King Harald and Queen Sonja, here in Tallinn, in the Hall of the St. Olaf's Guild, for two reasons.

First, a country so small as Estonia is not ashamed to admit that, for the time being, this is the best we have to offer.

Secondly, through St. Olaf we have, for almost a thousand years already, bound our fate to the part of the world called the Occident or Europe. A monk called Nigul, or Nikolaus, was the first Estonian to bring the European literacy to our country - he had been educated in Nidaros, today's Trondheim, and Stavanger, and came to spread the Occidental knowledge here in Estonia, and also in Tallinn. We have St. Olaf's Church here to symbolise his activities, this was once the highest building in Europe and the "glory and pride" of the city, as we say in our folk songs. It seems pertinent to add that glory and pride of the Estonians have always been of the practical kind. When we built the highest church tower in Europe here in the Far North, we also considered its practical value: the tower helped the sailors at sea to find their way. Even today, it is Estonia's mission to point the way. With her economic, political and security policy goals, Estonia will point and pave the way from West to East and East to West, from South to North and North to South. This is the same course you took yesterday, Your Majesties. In showing the course, Estonia has a sound reputation among those who, just like us, come from behind the iron curtain. And of course, Your Majesties, I feel bound to add that You and I alike are in this hall protected by the coat of arms of the City of Bergen, which, together with the coat of arms of Novgorod, adorns the frontal of this house. Estonia used to be a strong link between these very different parts of the world, and our strength, at these times as well as today, streamed and streams from our incredibly firm commitment to the European values.

This must be one of the reasons for our equally firm attachment to Norway, the Norwegians and the Norwegian culture. Here in Estonia we feel deep affinity with the Norwegian literature, which we read as our own. When you come to think of it, a nation reading the classics of the Norwegian literature, Hamsun, Björnson and Boyer as widely as the Estonians, would be hard to find. The girls in my class knew Sigrid Undset's "Kristin Lavrandsdottir" by heart. The plays by Ibsen have always been and still are often staged in the Estonian theatres.

It is not just because literature has once been my profession and will remain the object of my unceasing affection, that I am so emphatic on this matter. The names that I mentioned - and many others - belong firmly to the cultural consciousness of the Estonian people. This is the source of our deep affinity to you, Your Majesty King Harald and Your Majesty Queen Sonja.

This affinity has encouraged Estonian schoolchildren to seek the friendship of Norwegian schools. There have been not only mutual visits, but also opportunities for our students to study in the Norwegian "Folk Schools". Therefore, the freshly printed Estonian-Norwegian and Norwegian-Estonian dictionary is by no means a luxurious decoration to your visit. It is a necessary tool for the tens and hundreds, who have for many years worked with the development of economic contacts. The Republic of Estonia has opened many promising prospects in this field, and we are very pleased to see that there are so many representatives of the economic sphere in your distinguished delegation. Your Majesty, I am convinced that our exchange of views will have a favourable impact on the economic life of our two countries.

Both Estonians and Norwegians are small nations. This is why our sovereignty is especially precious to us. Independence was not easy to gain for either of us. Your visit, Majesties, gives Estonia reason to contemplate the brave steps taken by our countries at the beginning of this century; to contemplate also Norway's resolution in choosing her path in the middle of the century, after the second great war. I am very pleased to observe that Norway has rendered her understanding and sympathy to our aspirations towards integration into the European Union (whereas not being an EU member herself) and NATO. I have said this before, and I would like to emphasise once more, in your presence, Majesties: Europe will remain united as long as it understands that no country is too small and no country is too distant to belong to the common Trans-Atlantic security structure.

Your Majesties! During our conversation today, you could see what a pleasure it is for me that you are looking towards the future with us. Tomorrow you are going to visit Pärnu and ring the bell to the first class of the beginning school year. This has a great symbolic value. First, we can once again see that history is fond of big circles. Eight hundred and twenty-eight years ago Nigul, the monk from Nidaros, rang this bell, and tomorrow it will be Harald, the King of all Norway. Secondly: tomorrow will be the first schoolday for the children born in the independent Republic of Estonia. Can there be a greater happiness for a small country?

Your Majesties, I am delighted that we can share this happiness with you, as this signifies that happiness means the same thing in Norway and in Estonia. It means affinity, which has reached a new stage with your visit.

Your Majesty King Harald, Your Majesty Queen Sonja! On behalf of my spouse and everybody present here, on behalf of all the Estonian people and myself, I wish success and happiness to you and to the Kingdom of Norway, I wish even closer co-operation between Estonia and Norway, and I ask you all now to raise your glasses happily in honour of our friendship!

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