H.E. Ambassador Patrick A. Chuasoto hosted a reception to celebrate the 127the Anniversary of the Declaration of Philippine Independence, on 23 May 2025, held at the Embassy of the Philippines.

The event was attended by over 140 guests, from the  diplomatic corps, Swedish government officials, private sector, academia, and Filipino community leaders. The reception’s guests of honour, H.E. Ambassador Daniel Wolvén, Head of the Department for Asia, Pacific, and Latin America gladly accepts the invitation.

During his remarks, Ambassador Chuasoto  cited the long-standing bilateral relations between the Philippines and Sweden, which celebrated its milestone 75th anniversary of the establishment of diplomatic relations in 2022.  He expressed the hope and determination to build even stronger cooperation between both countries particularly in the areas of green and smart solutions, digitalisation, research and development, education, defence and security, and trade and investments.

Ambassador Wolvén, in his remarks reaffirmed Sweden’s commitment to strengthening bilateral relations between the countries and acknowledged the importance of the arrival of a new ambassador to Sweden. He noted the numerous high-level visits in the past year as well as the signing of several agreements that aim to facilitate Philippines-Sweden cooperation, which demonstrates Sweden’s intent to be  a preferred partner to the Philippines.

The Embassy featured Filipino award-winning flair bartender Mr. Dennis Barela Adiuba, who delighted the crowd with his bartending skills. Mr. Barela-Adiuba served cocktails using Philippine spirits–Don Papa Rum, Archipelago ARC Gin and Vodka, and Tarsier–which are available at the Systembolaget, a government-owned chain of liquor stores in Sweden for alcoholic drinks.

The Embassy also featured the LakBai Guitar Duo– Ms. Jennifer A. De Vera and Mr. Jeffrey S. Malazo –whose mastery of the guitar and enchanting voices provided entertainment through the evening.

Filipino restaurant, Kanto Bistro, whose delicious and authentic Filipino delicacies was a hit with the guests as they savored chicken inasal and pork barbeque skewers, vegetable lumpia, kinilaw shots, and pork asado and fried chicken pandesal.  Guests also satisfied their sweet cravings with the assorted delectable desserts of leche flan bites, ube panna cotta, ube cassava, and mango sago. END