Äike
01-18-2011, 01:17 PM
Ilves in Country of Birth for State Visit (http://news.err.ee/politics/1ab68e1e-d1a7-40e7-a9ad-ac98df6b2a47)
President Toomas Hendrik Ilves and First Lady Evelin Ilves are on a three-day state trip to Sweden at the invitation of King Carl XVI Gustaf.
The First Couple arrived by ship and were greeted at Värtahamnen dock by Prince Carl Philip, Foreign Minister Carl Bildt and representatives of the royal family. The chosen mode of transport harked back to the Carl XVI Gustaf's 1992 royal visit to Estonia and symbolized the importance of the sea.
“The Baltic Sea has always united Estonia and Sweden more than it has divided them, being a bridge between the two countries and peoples,” said Ilves.
There was a reception in the Royal Palace where King Carl XVI Gustaf and Queen Silvia met the Ilveses.
Besides meeting senior officials, Ilves and his delegation will visit Freedom's Gate, a monument to Estonia's wartime refugees, honoring Sweden's support for the emigres, who included President Ilves's family.
President Toomas Hendrik Ilves and First Lady Evelin Ilves are on a three-day state trip to Sweden at the invitation of King Carl XVI Gustaf.
The First Couple arrived by ship and were greeted at Värtahamnen dock by Prince Carl Philip, Foreign Minister Carl Bildt and representatives of the royal family. The chosen mode of transport harked back to the Carl XVI Gustaf's 1992 royal visit to Estonia and symbolized the importance of the sea.
“The Baltic Sea has always united Estonia and Sweden more than it has divided them, being a bridge between the two countries and peoples,” said Ilves.
There was a reception in the Royal Palace where King Carl XVI Gustaf and Queen Silvia met the Ilveses.
Besides meeting senior officials, Ilves and his delegation will visit Freedom's Gate, a monument to Estonia's wartime refugees, honoring Sweden's support for the emigres, who included President Ilves's family.