President of the Riigikogu is on a visit to Sweden with Latvian and Lithuanian counterparts

NordenBladet —

President of the Riigikogu (Parliament of Estonia) Jüri Ratas is on a official visit to Sweden with his Latvian and Lithuanian counterparts to celebrate the 30th anniversary of re-establishing of diplomatic relations between Sweden and Estonia, Latvia and Lithuania.

The visit will begin today with a seminar and parliamentary meetings in the Riksdag, the Parliament of Sweden. Tomorrow, the Speakers of the Parliaments of Estonia, Latvia and Lithuania will have an audience with His Majesty King Carl XVI Gustaf of Sweden.

The Speakers will also have meetings with Minister of Defence of Sweden Peter Hultqvist and Minister for Foreign Affairs Ann Linde as well as with President of the City Council of Stockholm Cecilia Brinck. They will visit the Swedish armed forces in Enköping and Uppsala University. There will also be a meeting with Governor of the Uppsala Province Göran Enander.

On Saturday, the Estonian delegation will lay a wreath at the MS Estonia Ferry Disaster Memorial in Djurgård in Stockholm and at the Freedom Gate monument to the Estonian boat refugees who fled to Sweden at the end of WW II. After that, they will meet with the Estonian community in Sweden.

The celebrations of the 30th anniversary of the renewal of diplomatic relations will culminate at noon on Saturday with the Baltic Day in Sollentuna, where President of the Riigikogu Jüri Ratas will also make a speech. The Estonian, Latvian and Lithuanian singers and folk dancers will perform. Estonia will be represented by the Estonian dance group Virvel from Stockholm.

Chairman of the National Defence Committee of the Riigikogu Enn Eesmaa and Chair of the Estonia-Sweden Parliamentary Group Yoko Alender accompany the President of the Riigikogu on the visit.

Source: Parliament of Estonia