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ASTANA — President of Finland Alexander Stubb met with students of Astana-based Maqsut Narikbayev University on Oct. 29, where politics met philosophy. Addressing young Kazakh students, he urged them to follow their hearts and seek meaning beyond titles or status, a message that gave his political speech a human touch. President Stubb, who arrived on an official visit to Kazakhstan on Oct. 28, delivered a lecture to students titled The Changing Balance of Power: Values, Interests and Power in Foreign Policy. Sharing insights from his long diplomatic career and academic background, he emphasized the classical pillars that guide international relations. “I would like to say that foreign policy is quite often based on three pretty classical pillars: values, interests and power,” he said. He explained that for smaller or mid-sized countries such as Kazakhstan, the balance between these elements is especially important. “The difference here is that smaller players, or mid-sized powers like Kazakhstan, we have values and interests. We actually have limited power. Power is something that is quite often in the hands of big states. It can be economic power. It can be military power. So by definition, it can be hard power. So what we can do in between is to try to maximize our influence,” Stubb said. Referring to his book “The Triangle of Power: Rebalancing the New World Order,” Stubb said the same logic applies today when the world order, balance and dynamics are shifting. He noted that countries should choose between “multipolar transactionalism,” where power is divided among competing centers, and “multilateral cooperation,” based on shared rules and respect for international law. Speaking about values, he underlined their universal nature. “Human rights, fundamental rights, protection of minorities, freedom, rule of law, or values in international relations like independence, territorial integrity and sovereignty – those are fundamental values which we should believe in,” he said. At the end of his speech, Stubb shared a personal message with students about the meaning of success and fulfillment. “This is just a message to say that: follow your heart, be open, understand that in life, you will have many failures. But there is one final thing I want to tell you: a lot of people today try to define success. Success is not about your salary, societal status or title. For me, it is about meaning and meaning comes from the fact that you do something in your life which you feel is meaningful almost every day,” he said. He added that true meaning comes not from power itself, but from how one uses it. “Meaning does not come from promoting or doing things for yourself, but from helping someone else. And if you keep that in mind, no matter what happens, when we meet again in 40 years, you will have had it for life,” he said. The lecture ended with an open Q&A session, where students explored topics from global cooperation and education to Finland’s foreign policy priorities and leadership lessons. It was Stubb’s first official visit to Kazakhstan since taking office last year. While in Astana, he met with President Kassym-Jomart Tokayev and addressed the bilateral business forum the same day. Later that evening, President Tokayev and President Stubb visited the National Museum of Kazakhstan. During the tour, the two leaders got a glimpse of unique historical and cultural artifacts spanning prehistoric times to the present day. They explored halls dedicated to ancient Turkic civilization, the art and technologies of the Great Steppe, and traditional Kazakh culture. Stubb will continue his Central Asian tour in Uzbekistan on Oct. 30-31.
