Jan 242014
 

PNoy welcomes Swedens King Carl XVI Gustaf

PNoy welcomes Sweden’s King Carl XVI Gustaf. President Benigno Aquino III welcomes King Carl XVI Gustaf of Sweden during a courtesy call in Malacañang on Friday, January 24. This is the first visit of a Swedish monarch and head of state to the Philippines. Gustaf will visit Yolanda-hit Tacloban City on January 25. Gil Nartea

Swedish King Carl XVI Gustaf arrived in the Philippines on Friday and will be here until Jan. 26 for boy scouting events and activities.

He was welcomed by President Benigno Aquino III at Malacañan on Friday and by Vice President Jejomar Binay at the Coconut Palace afterwards.

Gustaf will be the guest of honor at the Invitational Peace Jamboree of the Boy Scouts of the Philippines (BSP), which more than 7,000 young scouts are expected to attend Saturday.

The event, which will be held in Makiling, Laguna, is meant to mark the Boy Scouts’ centenary year.

He will be accompanied by Binay, national president of the BSP. 

Binay will also accompany Gustaf to Tacloban on Sunday to check the BSP’s as well as Sweden’s various projects in the typhoon-affected areas.

Gustaf, who became a scout at 10, has been a lifelong supporter of the Scouting movement.

He accepted the role of honorary chairman of the World Scout Foundation (WSF) in 1977 and has since been leading the WSF in raising funds to support scouting projects worldwide.

WSF supports the Boy Scouts of the Philippines’ “Ticket to Life” project for children living in difficult circumstances

The Boy Scouts of the Philippines has the third-biggest scout membership in the world, following the Boy Scouts of America and Boy Scouts of Indonesia.  Andrei Medina/JDS, GMA News