Guest of honour - Hon J. Kikwete, Minister of Foreign Affairs and International Cooperation
Excellencies
Member of the diplomatic corps
Officials of the Tanzanian Government,
Members of the Swedish Community in Tanzania
Other distinguished guests
Ladies and Gentlemen
I am glad that so many of you have accepted our invitation to join us in the celebration of what has now become the Swedish National Day. I am particularly glad that Hon Jakaya Kikwete, the Minister of Foreign Affairs and International Cooperation took time of from his busy schedule and joined us this evening.
First of all, I would like to take this opportunity to congratulate all members of the Swedish Community here in Tanzania on the Swedish National Day.
For many years Sweden did not have a National Day but since most other countries had one, also Sweden decided to have one. It was only in 1983 that the 6th of June became the National day of Sweden. This date was chosen because a certain Gustav Vasa was elected King of Sweden on 6th of June 1523. He is best known for having delivered Sweden from the Union with Denmark – a Union that was established in 1389 but had become unpopular in Sweden. Another reason was that an important Constitution was signed on this date in 1809. This constitution paved the way for a democratization process where en elected Parliament took shape and there was a clear division of power between the executive and legislative.
Our National Day is not a Public Holiday in Sweden. This may change as there is a Government Bill proposing to introduce 6th of June as a Public Holiday. I think the National Day of Sweden is more important to Swedish Communities overseas than it is in Sweden. Here we celebrate the National Day with people in Tanzania with whom we have close contacts in our day to day work and as a confirmation of the good and close relations between Sweden and Tanzania. Sweden has been a partner in Tanzanian development for about 40 years. Tanzania is the main recipient of Swedish Development Assistance – this year reaching some USD 90 million covering several sectors and programmes including budget support. An agreement covering a Research Cooperation Programme with funding from Sida/Sarec was signed this afternoon. There was no time to arrange for a formal signing ceremony. We value the close relations and cooperation that is now also gradually expanding into trade, investments and culture.
We are very pleased to have a group of three Swedish Musicians here tonight. It is a group that was actually set up for this occasion and does not have a stage name. They come from Dalecarlia in central Sweden. The group consists of Britt and Annika playing the KEY HARP, which is as close as you can get to a Swedish National Instrument and Kjell playing the violin. The music they play is mainly from the Dalecarlia Region. However they are trying to widen their repertoire and they will soon play two songs that are not from the Dalcarlia Region. If you want to know more about the key harp, I am sure the musicians are more than willing to explain that it is an instrument that was known in Sweden more than 500 years ago. To conclude I will propose a toast to H.E. the President of the United Republic of Tanzania to his health and well being.
To H.E. the President!