– I thank Your Majesties for the warm reception today in Stockholm. I am grateful and pleased to be part of the chain of Finnish presidents visiting Sweden shortly after taking office, writes President Alexander Stubb on X (formerly Twitter).
Once inside the inner courtyard, His Majesty the King and the President inspected a grenadier company from the Life Guards, and the national anthems were played, writes the Royal Court in a press release.
– With this visit, we hope to develop the close cooperation that has benefited our countries for so many years, says the King regarding the state visit, according to the Royal Court's press release.
After the royal reception, President Stubb visited the Swedish Parliament where he met with the Speaker of the Parliament Andreas Norlén and delivered a speech to the members of Parliament in the First Chamber Hall.
In the afternoon, the President holds formal talks with Prime Minister Ulf Kristersson (M) where they will discuss, among other things, support for Ukraine and preparations for the NATO summit in Washington, writes the Finnish Embassy in Stockholm in a press release. After the talks, a joint press conference will be held.
Thereafter, the heads of state, H.R.H. the Crown Princess, H.R.H. Prince Daniel, and the Prime Minister participate in a business seminar called Finland-Sweden Business Seminar: Bolstering cooperation to secure future competitiveness. The seminar takes place at the Grand Hotel and is organized by the Confederation of Swedish Enterprise, the Confederation of Finnish Industries, and Business Sweden. The aim is to further strengthen business relations with a focus on cooperation opportunities, including defense, as well as in the telecom and AI sectors, writes Business Sweden in a press release.
According to the program description, Micael Johansson from SAAB, Stefan Löfström from BAE Systems Bofors, and Esa Rautalinko from Patria participate in the first panel. The discussion will focus on innovation within the defense industry where participants will discuss cooperation opportunities and share insights.
Tomorrow, the royal and presidential couples continue their journey to Gothenburg, where they will visit the Älvsborg Amphibious Regiment, Amf 4. The regiment commander, Colonel Fredrik Herlitz, will share his views on how the global situation affects western Sweden and showcase various types of equipment as well as demonstrate how a landing operation is conducted, according to an article on the Swedish Armed Forces' website.