Mr President, First Lady
Cabinet Members,
Distinguished Representatives from the Republic of Indonesia,
Mr Speaker, Ministers, Excellences,
Ladies and gentlemen

It is a great pleasure for the Queen and me to welcome You, Mr President and the First Lady to the Royal Palace in Stockholm.

Mr President, I am glad to meet you again!

In January last year I had the opportunity to visit Indonesia in my role as Honorary Chairman of the World Scout Foundation.

Let me express my warm and sincere thank you for the very special welcome you gave me, during my visit to your fascinating country. Since scouting is something I care for, it was especially important for me to visit Indonesia. Your country hosts the biggest scout movement in the world - with 21 million scout members.

To be greeted by you and your Vice President and almost all your Indonesian ministers at the Presidential Palace in January last year — all in scout uniforms - is a unique and unbeatable memory from my visit to Jakarta.

One area related to scouting is our environment and climate change. I have understood that this is an interest that we share, Mr President. It is with admiration I have followed your initiatives for the Bali Road Map back in 2007 and your high ambition in firm commitments on reducing carbon emissions.

With your vast areas of rainforests in Indonesia, together with a unique marine life and fauna, your country certainly has a special and important role to play. Together we share the ambition to support a sustainable development.

Our bilateral relation has indeed grown stronger and better during the last years, which are well reflected in many areas.

This includes trade, investment and UN related matters such as human rights and peacekeeping, where I know that you, Mr President, have an engaged and genuine interest, both as Head of State and as a former Peace Keeper in Bosnia in the early 1990s.

After my visit to Indonesia in January 2012, we have seen a significant development in exchange of visit at the highest level possible.

I know that Prime Minister Reinfeldt had a successful visit to Jakarta in November last year. And now we are happy to see You and the First Lady on this important visit to Sweden.

Let me conclude by wishing you Mr President, the First Lady and your delegation an interesting and successful visit to Sweden, with fruitful meetings and discussions that will encourage new and even stronger links, between our two countries.

Again — a warm welcome!