Sweden’s National Day highlights two historical events. The first one happened on June 6, 1523, when Gustav Vasa was elected King of Sweden and the second was the approval of Sweden’s new Constitution on this day in 1809.
On June 6, the Embassy will broadcast a 90-minute video to celebrate Sweden’s National Day on its Facebook page. The livestream will include speeches from Her Royal Highness Crown Princess Victoria, the Swedish Minister of Foreign Affairs, Ann Linde, as well as music, dance and cooking performances with famous Swedes.
The Swedish Ambassador to Egypt Mr Håkan Emsgård, will inaugurate the online celebration with a video message that will also be shared on the Embassy’s page on Facebook.
In his comments on his first National Day celebration in Egypt, Ambassador Emsgård said, “the friendship between Sweden and Egypt is not only a government-to-government relation, but also between the Swedish people and the Egyptian people.” Ambassador Emsgård continued by saying “Egypt is a cornerstone in the MENA region and in Africa. Sweden and Egypt are working together in areas such as peace building, gender equality and climate action.”
One example of this is Sweden’s partnership with the Aswan Forum for Sustainable Peace and Development in Africa, organised by the Cairo International Centre for Conflict Resolution, Peacekeeping and Peacebuilding (CCCPA). Sweden has been a strategic partner to the Aswan Forum during its two editions, first in 2019 and then in March of 2021. Moreover, the Aswan Forum also collaborates closely with the Stockholm Forum on Peace and Development, organised annually since 2014 by the Stockholm International Peace Research Institute (SIPRI) and the Swedish Ministry for Foreign Affairs. Earlier this year, the Embassy co-hosted a panel discussion together with the CCCPA themed strengthening the African Union’s peacebuilding efforts: The way forward, together, which is another example of the close bond between the two countries when it comes to peacebuilding.
As a part of the National Day celebrations, the Embassy collaborated with the Swedish companies in Egypt to highlight the strong economic relations between the two countries.
Through a series of interviews with the leaders of Swedish companies in Egypt, the Embassy launched a social media campaign to showcase how Swedish companies have been able to integrate sustainability in their business practices and how sustainability can be leveraged as a competitive advantage and pave the way for a green recovery.
“I am proud that some of the largest and most successful multinational Swedish companies are established in Egypt, creating thousands of jobs in the local market, and working to promote Swedish values such as sustainability and innovation” said Swedish Ambassador Mr Håkan Emsgård.
Under the theme “build back better” several Swedish companies will be part of this year’s digital celebration of Sweden’s National day, including ABB, AstraZeneca, Electrolux, Hitachi ABB, IKEA, Oriflame, Scania, Swedish Group, Tetra Pak, Volvo Cars and Volvo Group.
Another example of Sweden’s commitment to Egypt is displayed in Sweden’s contribution to fighting the pandemic around the world. Global access to Covid-19 vaccines is a priority issue for the Swedish government and Sweden is the largest per capita donor to the COVAX facility. In this regard, the Swedish Ambassador, Mr Håkan Emsgård, commented “We need more co-operation and international solidarity to address the global crises of our time. We will continue to work for vaccine equity with our partners in the EU and beyond to ensure a fairer distribution of vaccines. No one is safe until everyone is safe”, said Ambassador Emsgård.
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