The Diplomat
The Kings of Spain and Sweden, Philip VI and Carl XVI Gustaf, said yesterday that both countries share “the same principles and values of democracy” and stressed the “important role” that the two countries will play during their respective presidencies of the EU in 2023.
Philip VI and Queen Letizia have been in Sweden since Tuesday at the invitation of King Carl XVI Gustaf. This is the first state trip to Sweden since 1979, when King Juan Carlos I and Queen Sofia visited Sweden also at the invitation of King Carl XVI Gustaf, who returned to Spain in 1983.
The State visit also coincides with a moment of intensification of contacts between Sweden and Spain, the two countries that will hold the rotating presidency of the EU throughout 2023, the Nordic country in the first half of the year and our country in the second. The King and Queen are accompanied by the Minister of Foreign Affairs, José Manuel Albares; the Minister of Science and Innovation, Diana Morant; and the Secretary of State for Trade, Xiana Méndez.
On Tuesday, during the first day of the visit, King Philip and Queen Letizia received at the Residence of the Spanish Embassy in Stockholm the Spanish community residing in Sweden, which has increased by 37.12% in the last five years to over 12,500 Spanish nationals currently registered in the Consular Register.
Yesterday began at the Royal Palace in Stockholm, where they were received by the King and Queen of Sweden and where the King said a few brief words of greeting in the Lovisa Ulrika Hall in which he expressed his wish that the State visit “will serve to further deepen our friendship between Spain and Sweden”. “The program of our visit has an outstanding scientific, innovation and business content, reflecting our common aspiration towards an economy based on knowledge, science and innovation and towards a society committed to a fairer and more sustainable progress,” he continued.
For his part, Carl XVI Gustaf affirmed that “Spain and Sweden share interests, values and priorities in many areas, especially with regard to the importance of democracy, gender equality and open, free and sustainable trade.” “Our countries work closely together in the European Union and are strongly committed to maintaining multilateral cooperation,” he continued. “In 2023, Sweden and Spain will play an important role in the EU through our presidencies,” he added.
President of the Parliament, Prime Minister and gala dinner
In the afternoon, the King and Queen went to the Nobel Museum, where they toured the exhibition Sinapsis. Spanish Art and Science. From Ramón y Cajal to the present day, organized by the Embassy of Spain in Sweden and the AECID with the support of the Ministry of Science and Innovation, the Ministry of Education and Vocational Training, Acción Cultural Española, the Cervantes Institute, the Provincial Council of Huesca and the Museum itself.
Later, Philip VI visited the Swedish Parliament, where he held a meeting with its president, Andreas Norlén, while Letizia and the Queen of Sweden visited the Karolinska University Hospital to meet with representatives of organizations for rare diseases, spinal cord injury and organoselective endovascular therapy. In the mid-afternoon, the King held a meeting with the acting Prime Minister of Sweden, Stefan Löfven, at the Prime Minister’s Office. Yesterday, the Swedish Parliament endorsed the appointment as Prime Minister of the leader of the Social Democratic Party, Magdalena Andersson, who will thus become the first woman to head a government in the history of the country.
Yesterday concluded with a gala dinner hosted by the King and Queen of Sweden at the Royal Palace in honor of the King and Queen of Spain and attended by the Spanish delegation, representatives of the Swedish Parliament and Government, other authorities and personalities from the scientific, cultural and business world. Before the start of the honorary dinner, the King made a few words in which he stated that “Spain and Sweden share the fundamental democratic principles and values that lay at the foundation of today’s Europe. We are both proud of our institutions based on the rule of law and of our inclusive societies, where human rights are protected and equal and fair opportunities are offered to all, notwithstanding social, economic or gender differences”.
Today
The last day of the State Visit will begin today with a meeting of King Philip with businessmen and the inauguration of a Business Seminar. At mid-morning, Philip VI and Carl XVI Gustaf will visit the Royal Institute of Technology KTH, while Letizia will visit the Bernadotte Library at the Royal Palace in Stockholm, where an event to promote the Spanish and Swedish languages will take place, with the collaboration of the Cervantes Institute and the Swedish Institute. At noon, the King and Queen will attend the lunch offered in their honor by the President of the Citizen’s Council and the Mayor of Stockholm. The King will then visit the Royal Swedish Academy of Engineering Sciences. The state visit will conclude with a reception hosted by Philip VI and Letizia in honor of Carl XVI Gustaf and Queen Silvia.
