SWEDEN DAY & 70 YEARS OF RELATIONS WITH PAKISTAN CELEBRATED

Islamabad, 22 June 2019: The Swedish Ambassador H.E. Ingrid Johansson, in collaboration with Swedish companies in Pakistan, hosted a reception to celebrate “Sweden Day 2019” at the Serena hotel in Islamabad. The event also commemorated 70 years of diplomatic relations between Sweden and Pakistan.

Ambassador Johansson said “Today we celebrate both Sweden’s National Day and our 70 years of relations with Pakistan. We do this in the spirit of sustainability in its broader sense, including sustainable development and trade, women’s empowerment, green technology, democracy, human rights, and much more. Everyone present here today, as our partners from government, civil society, media, alumni, diplomacy, world-leading Swedish companies, and not the least all the Embassy staff, are key partners in our work towards a shared sustainable future – you are the embodiment of Swedish-Pakistani relations”.

Several notable Swedish companies in Pakistan co-hosted the evening and showcased their high- tech and innovative solutions. Honorable Minister of State for States and Frontier Regions (SAFRON), Shehryar Khan Afridi attended the event as Chief Guest, he took a detailed tour of the companies’ stalls and appreciated the strong and broad Swedish business presence in Pakistan.

The “Khawatoons”, Pakistan’s first all-female comedy group led by Faiza Saleem, opened the event with a fun performance. Their stand-up kept the room echoing with laughter and set the tone for a joyful evening.

The reception was attended by over 400 partners of Sweden from different spheres of the society including high-level officials from government, diplomatic missions, private sector, Swedish alumni, media and civil society.