State visit from Canada – day 2

The state visit from Canada continued on Tuesday 21 February. The agenda included a trade seminar on Swedish-Canadian business opportunities, a visit to Karolinska Institutet for discussions on research, and lunch at Stockholm City Hall.

The King and the Governor General began the day with a trade seminar at Rosenbad Conference Centre. The seminar addressed opportunities for Canadian and Swedish business under CETA, with representative from Swedish and Canadian trade and industry taking part.

Canada is the EU's twelfth largest trading partner, and Sweden's 22nd largest. Negotiations on a free trade agreement between the EU and Canada, CETA – the Comprehensive Economic and Trade Agreement – began in May 2009. These negotiations were completed in autumn 2014. CETA was signed on 30 October 2016 at the EU-Canada summit in Brussels, in the presence of Canada's Prime Minister Justin Trudeau. The European Parliament approved CETA on 15 February 2017, which means that the agreement can be applied provisionally as early as March/April this year

During the morning, The Queen and Sharon Johnston visited NASP, the National Centre for Suicide Research and Prevention of Mental Ill-Health, at Karolinska Institutet. Director of NASP Professor Danuta Wasserman began the visit by giving a presentation of operations. Research and method development are carried out at the centre to study mental and physical ill-health that can lead to suicidal actions. NASP also provides education to improve knowledge and initiatives within suicide prevention. Since 2007, NASP has been part of Karolinska Institutet.

The King and Queen and the Governor General couple then visited Karolinska Institutet, where they were welcomed by Acting Vice-Chancellor Karin Dahlman-Wright at research group leader Anna Falk's laboratory. Anna Falk's research group uses 3D bio printers in their research to study living tissue and the development of nerve cells.

The morning concluded with discussions at the Nobel Forum, where former professional ice hockey player Mats Sundin presented the Mats Sundin Fellowship in Developmental Health. This is a Swedish-Canadian researcher exchange between Karolinska Institutet and the University of Toronto which began in spring 2012 when Mats donated money for research into health and disease in human development. Sophie Petropoulos, who was the first Mats Sundin Fellow, described her studies of the first stages of the human embryo’s development.

Lunch was served at Stockholm City Hall, and was hosted by Chair of the Municipal Council Eva-Louise Erlandsson Slorach and Finance Commissioner Karin Wanngård.

After lunch, The King and the Governor General visited the Royal Swedish Academy of Sciences (KVA), where they were welcomed by KVA's President Christina Moberg and Secretary-General Göran K Hansson. The subjects discussed at KVA related to learning and education as a basis for innovation and societal development. Minister for Higher Education and Research Helene Hellmark Knutsson represented the Swedish Government.

At the same time, The Queen and Sharon Johnston visited the Aging Research Center (ARC). This is a national research institute that researches ageing based on four research fields: longevity, morbidity, and functioning; treatment and care of elderly persons; health trends and inequality; and brain ageing.

The visit also included a discussion on working to achieve a dementia-friendly society. The discussions were led by Wilhelmina Hoffman, Director of the Swedish Dementia Centre and Head Teacher and Operational Manager of Silviahemmet.

The Swedish Dementia Centre (SDC) was created by the Stockholm Gerontology Research Center and the Silviahemmet Foundation, and was commissioned and funded by the National Board of Health and Welfare and the Swedish Government.

The Silviahemmet Foundation was founded at The Queen's initiative in 1996. Silviahemmet strives to play an active role in the development of quality care for dementia sufferers and their relatives. It provides training for various categories of healthcare personnel, including assistant nurses, nurses and doctors.

In the evening, Governor General David Johnston and Sharon Johnston hosted a reciprocal reception at the Vasa Museum.