Midsummer Celebration by the Embassy of Sweden
By Mariam Chanishvili
Monday, June 25
The Embassy of Sweden organized a Midsummer Celebration party at Ethnographic Museum on June 21.
The Ambassador of Sweden Martina Quick welcomed the guests, explained the importance of Midsummer Celebration and delivered a speech, mentioning that her mission in Georgia is coming to end.
“I want to thank everyone for excellent cooperation. Sweden is strongly supporting Georgia’s sovereignty and territorial integrity. It has been a very special privilege for me to be the ambassador of Sweden to Georgia,” she said.
The Georgian Foreign Minister David Zalkaliani participated in the farewell evening held at the Ethnographic Museum in honor for the outgoing Ambassador of Sweden to Georgia Martina Quick.
Zalkaliani highlighted friendly relations between Sweden and Georgia and underlined the valuable contribution of the Ambassador Quick.
He also noted that Sweden represents the best example of modern democracy and one of the founders of Eastern Partnership – the initiative, which helped Georgia make important steps in European integration process.
The event was attended by representatives of various Embassies.
Episcopal Ordination of Archbishop José Bettencourt, Apostolic Nuncio to Armenia and Georgia also attended the event and handed a special token to the Ambassador Quick.
Apart from Christmas, Midsummer is the most important holiday in Sweden.
In agrarian times, Midsummer celebrations in Sweden were held to welcome summertime and the season of fertility.
Midsummer is an occasion of gatherings featuring a lunch party formula with flowers in hair, dancing around a pole, etc.
Nowadays, Midsummer Eve is celebrated between June 20-25.
Diplomatic relations between Georgia and Sweden were established on September 19, 1992.
The Embassy of the Kingdom of Sweden to Georgia, which was opened in 2010, is the only diplomatic mission of the Scandinavian countries in Tbilisi.
The legal base between Georgia and the Kingdom of Sweden covers various agreements and regulates areas such as promotion of investments, development of cooperation, double taxation.
Cooperation between Georgia and the Kingdom of Sweden is developing dynamically both in bilateral and multilateral formats. Sweden’s (co-author of Eastern Partnership Initiative) active support and involvement in Georgia’s European integration process is important.
The ongoing active cooperation in the field of defense since 2009 covers various directions, including sharing experience for the purpose of participation in international operations.
