Sweden Exlusive

President Abdullah Gül along with the First Lady paid a three-day historic state visit to Sweden at the invitation of King Carl XVI Gustaf. Decorated with the Royal Order of the Seraphim by the King, President Gül addressed the Swedish Parliament. Attending the Turkey-Sweden Business Forum as part of his program, the President also met with both Turkish expatriates and the chairmen of Turkish association in Sweden. He further participated in the inaguration ceremony of the Institute for Turkish Studies at Stocholm University.

President Abdullah Gül paid a state visit to Sweden at the invitation of King Carl XVI Gustaf.

President Abdullah Gül was welcomed by Chief of Protocol Ambassador Caroline Vicini; Turkish Ambassador to Stockholm, Zergün Korutürk; Turkish Ambassador to Helsinki, Selah Korutürk, Swedish Ambassador to Ankara, Hakan Akesson and other officials at Arlanda Airport. Two Saab military aircrafts of the Swedish Armed Forces escorted the Presidential airplane when it entered Sweden’s airspace.

PRESIDENT GÜL AT THE SWEDISH ROYAL PALACE

Launching his official program the next day, President Gül, accompanied by the First Lady, was welcomed with an official ceremony by His Majesty King Carl XVI Gustaf in Stockholm. The Royal horse carriages that President Gül and Mrs. Gül as well as King Carl XVI Gustaf and Queen Silvia were on were accompanied by the cavalry troop up to the ceremonial ground. Along the way, citizens greeted the First Couple and the Royalty. During the official welcoming ceremony held for the First Couple, who arrived at the ceremonial ground in a horse-drawn carriage, both Turkish and Swedish people carrying the flags of the two countries watched the ceremony and demonstrated great enthusiasm for the First Couple and the Royalty.

The First Couple and the Royalty afterwards proceeded to the Royal Palace, where the delegations of the two countries were introduced.

After that, the First Couple and the Royalty met with Prince Carl Philip, Crown Princess Victoria and her spouse Prince Daniel and they had a memoir photo taken.

GÜL DECORATED WITH THE ROYAL ORDER OF THE SERPAHIM

After the ceremony during which King Carl XVI Gustaf decorated President Gül with the Royal Order of the Seraphim and later President Gül presented the King the State Medal of Turkey, which is given to heads of state who contribute to the relations between Turkey and their countries. The President also presented King Carl XVI Gustaf a replica of the letter which refers to the Royal Order of Seraphim which was given to Sultan Abdulhamid II by the then King Oscar of Sweden. The Royalty afterwards hosted a luncheon in honor of President Gül and the First Lady.

President Gül, as part of his program in Stockholm, met with Swedish Parliament Speaker Per Westerberg and was introduced to MPs including Mehmet Kaplan, Turkish Deputy and the Green Party Group Chairman. He later signed the special book in the Parliament.

GÜL RECEIVES WESTERBERG OF THE SWEDISH PARLIAMENT

TURKEY-SWEDEN BUSINESS FORUM

President Abdullah Gül and King Carl XVI Gustaf participated in the closing session of the Turkey-Sweden Business Forum.

Turkish Deputy Prime Minister, Ali Babacan; Swedish Minister of Transport and Infrastructure, Catharina Elmsater Svard and Rifat Hisarcıklıoğlu of the Union of Chambers and Commodity Exchanges of Turkey delivered a speech during the forum. Afterwards, Turkish Deputy Prime Minister Babacan and Swedish Minister Svard signed the Memorandum of Understanding on Trade, Investment and Development Cooperation.

President Gül, prior to the forum, met with the representatives of the 10 leading Swedish firms at a round table meeting.

GÜL MEETS WITH TURKISH CITIZENS

After the business forum, President Gül, during his meeting with Turkish citizens and the representatives of the Turkish associations in Sweden, accentuated that Turkey and Sweden corroborate each other in all areas and said the more successful the Turkish expatriates residing in Sweden are, the happier and prouder Turkey will be. Revealing his happiness to be the first Turkish President ever to pay a state visit to Sweden, President Gül shared his pleasure with the fact that over than 100,000 Turkish people living in Sweden hold dual citizenship and noted that their motherland, Turkey, is following up on the problems and difficulties which Turkish communities abroad experience and it is doing its best to resolve these issues. Turkey and Sweden, he declared, corroborate each other in all areas and said the more successful the Turkish expatriates residing in Sweden are, the happier and prouder Turkey will be. “Turkey’s democratic standards have considerably risen especially in the last decade. You should act like ambassadors of your motherland, Turkey, which you should represent here in the best way. You should protect and defend Turkey’s image as there could be anti-Turkish propaganda. Turkey’s realities are much more different from such propaganda indeed. The Turkish economy, democracy and other characteristics have all changed for the better and developed.”

OFFICIAL DINNER FOR THE FIRST COUPLE

President Gül and Mrs. Gül attended the dinner King Carl XVI Gustaf and Queen Silvia hosted in their honor. The First Couple, prior to the dinner, came together with King Carl XVI Gustaf, Queen Silvia, Crown Princess Victoria and her spouse Prince Daniel, Prince Carl Philip, King’s sister Princess Christina and her spouse Tord Magunuson in the Prince Bertil Suite.

The President, starting his speech by revealing his pleasure to be paying the first Turkish state visit to Sweden, said like the visit by Their Majesties the King and the Queen to Turkey in 2006 which was also the first such visit, his visit here is also an historic one. He therefore offered his thanks to Their Majesties the King and the Queen for their kind invitation and hospitality on behalf of the First Lady and his delegation.

The history of the bilateral relations between the two countries, the President noted, dates back to the 17th century, Every Turk, he claimed, knows quite well King Carl XII who was a guest of the Ottoman Empire from 1709 to 1714. A trade agreement was signed between the two countries in 1737 as well as an Alliance for Peace, Unity and Friendship in 1739, reiterated the President. For all these reasons, he said, Sweden and Turkey refer to each other as oldest friends. “In my opinion, the historic breadth of our relations is the reason for the interest of the Swedish people in Turkey, Turkish culture and language. The presence of the Department of Turcology for 170 years at the Uppsala University, which is one of Europe’s oldest universities, is the most concrete indication of this interest. In the same context, it will be my pleasure to inaugurate the Stockholm University Institute for Turkish Studies tomorrow with His Majesty.”

JOINT PRESS CONFERENCE WITH REINFELDT

President Abdullah Gül, as part of his program in Stockholm, met with Prime Minister Fredrik Reinfeldt of Sweden, with whom he afterwards held a joint press conference.

The President, after offering his condolences to the family of the police officer who was among the crew guarding him and who lost his life in the hospital after his motorcycle skidded and fell into an ice-covered canal, reiterated the historic Turkish-Swedish bilateral relations and pointed to the several agreements signed between the then relevant officials of the two countries back in the 1700s, saying: “Our friendship is very robust today. There are mutually-paid high level visits. Turkey and Sweden are in close cooperation as to global issues.” The Strategic Partnership Agreement, he declared, is a tangible demonstration of the fellowship the two countries enjoy, extending his thanks once again to PM Reinfeldt for the Swedish administration’s corroboration for Turkey’s bid to access to the EU.

SWEDISH SUPPORT FOR TURKEY’S EU MEMBERSHIP

Turkey, he proclaimed, is resolute to conclude its negotiation process with the EU successfully, but, he said, the reason why the process has slowed down is that some EU countries are putting artificial obstacles in the way of Turkey.

President Gül further underscored that Turkey has grown five times the average of the EU and said it today boasts more than 1 trillion dollars of GDP. Therefore, he noted, it would be in the interest of both countries to establish cooperation in many areas, referring to his meeting with the representatives of the leading Swedish firms last night. “Turkey has achieved democratic, economic and political reforms in recent years, raising her standards in all areas each year. We have no satisfaction on the path to becoming impeccable in this regard. What is important for a country is that it should realize its deficiencies and make sincere efforts to overcome them.” Prior to the joint press conference, Turkish Foreign Minister Ahmet Davutoğlu and his Swedish counterpart, Carl Bildt, signed the Turkey-Sweden Strategic Partnership Agreement.

GÜL VISITS ROYAL ACADEMY OF ENGINEERING SCIENCES

The First Couple and the Swedish Royalty visited the Swedish Museum of Science and Technology of the Royal Swedish Academy of Engineering Sciences. President Abdullah Gül, First Lady Hayrünnisa Gül, King Carl XVI Gustaf and Queen Silvia arrived at the museum where they were informed about its activities. They afterwards explored the museum together.

President Gül and his delegation were also informed about the high tech device that displays all the details of the human body. The President was greatly interested in the device which is used in post mortem examinations and which can also be used to study the mummies in the British Museum.

Afterwards, President Gül and the First Lady attended the dinner given in their honor by the Stockholm City Council. They were welcomed by King Carl XVI Gustaf, Queen Silvia, Council Chairman Margareta Björk and Mayor Sten Nordin at the City Hall.

INAUGURATION CEREMONY OF TURKISH STUDIES INSTITUTE

President Abdullah Gül and His Majesty King Carl XVI Gustaf on teh same day participated in the opening ceremony of the Institute for Turkish Studies at Stockholm University. Arriving together at the Frescati Campus of Stockholm University, President Gül and King Carl XVI Gustaf were welcomed by Rector Astrid Söderbergh Widding and the Chairman of the Institute for Turkish Studies, Paul Levin. The President and the King conferred with the administration of the university and sponsors of the institute prior to the ceremony.

THE FIRST COUPLE HOST RECEPTION IN HONOR OF THE ROYALTY

President Abdullah Gül and First Lady Hayrünnisa Gül hosted a reception in honor of King Carl XVI Gustaf and Queen Silvia in Stockholm. Prior to the reception, worldly known Turkish pianists Güher Pekinel and Süher Pekinel gave a concert.

GÜL ADDRESSES THE SWEDISH PARLIAMENT

The President, on the last day of his visit, made a speech at the Swedish Parliament as part of his program in Stockholm. Evincing his pleasure to address the Swedish Parliament, the President said the most exciting part of state visits for him is his address at the parliament of the host country, because, he continued, he knows that only nations whose friendship has been tested by the trials of history open the doors of their parliament to each other. “For this reason, I feel greatly honored to address such distinguished friends at the Swedish Parliament “Riksdag” whose first representatives were appointed in the 16th century and which has, since then, become the backbone of a democracy that sets an example for the world.”

Sharing his pride in realizing the first ever State Visit from Turkey to Sweden, President Gül said Turkey and Sweden, located on two corners of Europe, are two friendly countries which have transformed their relations dating back to the 17th century into an alliance. In many ways, he noted, they are two noble nations with many similarities.

Referring to the fact that the contractual basis of the relations between the two countries located on two flanks of Europe dates back to the Trade Agreement and the Alliance for Peace, Unity and Friendship signed respectively, in 1737 and in 1739, at the time of the Ottoman Empire, President Gül reiterated that these two countries, which refer to each other as “oldest friends” then signed a Friendship Agreement in 1924 soon after the founding of the Republic of Turkey and reinforced their historical relations in this new era, adding that the current state of their relations is very satisfactory in many ways.

On the other hand, he stressed, it is also clear that relations between Turkey and Sweden have the potential for further development and deepening in all fields. He further shared his belief that making use of this potential shall be enriching and would make concrete contributions not only to the two countries, but also to other regional and global developments and to the European geography in particular.

Declaring the almost 115.000-strong Turkish community in Sweden to constitute the most important bridge between Turkey and Sweden, President Gül said the integration of the Turkish community who make each passing day increasing contributions to social, cultural, economic and political life in Sweden is of utmost importance to them. In this framework, he added, receiving a good education with a good command of Swedish and Turkish, in particular for the young generations, plays a key role for integration.

THE FIRST COUPLE VISIT UPPSALA CASTLE

President Abdullah Gül along with First Lady Hayrünnisa Gül proceeded to Uppsala after the President’s program in Stockholm ended. The First Couple explored Uppsala Castle and examined the books and manuscripts dating back to Ottoman times during their visit to the library of Uppsala University.

Welcomed by Governor of Uppsala, Peter Egardt, upon their arrival at the castle where they came together with King Carl XVI Gustaf and Queen Silvia, the First Couple attended the luncheon given in their honor by the Governor.

After the luncheon, President Gül and King Gustaf visited the AAC Microtec Laboratory, where they were informed about the studies it carries out as well as satellites and microchips it produces.

Afterwards, the two leaders proceeded to Uppsala Castle and they along with the First Lady and Queen Silvia examined the books and manuscripts dating back to Ottoman times in the library of Uppsala University.

Among the works on display were two hand-written Holy books of Quran which date back to 1090 and 1598, three manuscripts given by Sultan Abdulhamid II as a present to King Oscar II in 1891 and a three-meter-long drawing of the Bosphorus by Marco de Broen, a Swedish merchant, who made it during his visit to Istanbul in the 17th century.

They later proceeded to a hall where they conferred for a while and afterwards, the Royalty saw the First Couple off.

Crown Princess Victoria and her spouse, Prince Daniel and Swedish Foreign Minister Carl Bildt saw President Gül and Mrs. Gül off at Arlanda Airport.

THE FIRST LADY AND QUEEN SILVIA VISIT SILVIAHEMMET FOUNDATION

Accompanying President Abdullah Gül on his state visit to Sweden at the invitation of H.M. King Carl XVI Gustaf, First Lady Hayrünnisa Gül, after the official welcoming ceremony at the Royal Palace, carried out her program with Queen Silvia in Stockholm. As part this, Mrs. Gül and Queen Silvia visited the Silviahemmet Foundation for the elderly. Welcomed by the administration of the foundation upon their arrival, they were informed about the activities of the foundation, explored the education and care rooms and chatted with the old people living there afterwards.

Mrs. Gül and Queen Silvia later came together with the two Turkish citizens in the Rinkeby Old People’s Home and nurses in the institution where the guests enjoyed Turkish coffee and Turkish delight.

They afterwards visited the Rinkeby Academy, which was established to sponsor and urge successful immigrant students to be good models for others and where they were welcomed with flowers. The First Lady and Queen Silvia later were informed about the projects these students are conducting, especially the presentation made by Turkish student Adalet Aksoy which received acclaim and a big round of applause.

Mrs. Gül and Queen Silvia, chatting with the students, had a memoir photo taken with them and they left the academy.

MRS. GÜL AND THE QUEEN EXPLORE THE ROYAL COLLECTIONS DEPARTMENT

First Lady Hayrünnisa Gül and Queen Silvia of Sweden explored the Stockholm Public Library and the Royal Collections Department during the second day of President Abdullah Gül’s official state visit.

Welcomed by the administration of the Stockholm Public Library upon their arrival, the First Lady and the Queen, after the presentation about the books and history of the library, proceeded to the section where books for children are kept and where a group of children welcomed them with flowers. Mrs. Gül and Queen Silvia were informed about the studies of the library to help children to develop a habit of reading. The officials further stated that they are following similar projects under the First Lady’s patronage about which they requested for information.

Drawing attention to the fact that technology has decreased the rate of reading, the First Lady said they have been carrying out the projects to enable children to acquire reading as a habit, referring to the projects under her aegis, “Turkey is Reading” and “Talking Book Festival” during which artists, celebrities, athletes, authors and other role models for the youth come together with them, thus urging them to read more. She further underscored the importance of the role parents, especially mothers, can play in this regard.

Sharing her experience from her visit to a province where the “Turkey is Reading” campaign was held, Mrs. Gül said the mothers who learned to read and write years later attended the festival during which they read so many books in such a short time, which she noted urged her children to follow their example.

The First Lady, when she asked how they could help children with disabilities to acquire reading as a habit in Sweden, was told that they have many audio books which these children can listen to.

Afterwards, the First Lady and Queen Silvia visited the Restoration Department of the Royal Collections and explored the furniture, textile, coating and metal ateliers.

After having completed his three-day state visit to Sweden, President Abdullah Gül left for Ankara.