Ministry for Foreign Affairs

VIENNA/STOCKHOLM, 13 June 2021.

At the Government’s initiative, Minister for Enterprise and Innovation Ibrahim Baylan and Minister for Foreign Trade and Nordic Affairs Anna Hallberg met with colleagues from Denmark, Finland, Iceland and Norway on 9 June to discuss opportunities to strengthen and create synergies in Nordic vaccine production.

With a view to inspiring and influencing Swedish development policy, Minister for International Development Cooperation Per Olsson Fridh will launch an international advisory group for action on the environment, climate and biodiversity in connection with World Environment Day on 5 June. The advisory group will make an important contribution to fine-tuning Sweden’s global engagement in the most affected countries ahead of coming international high level meetings on climate, environment and biodiversity.

The International Coordination and Response Group for the victims of Flight PS752 today issued the following joint statement:

The humanitarian situation in Yemen is alarming, with millions of people facing famine. On 1 June, the European Commission and Sweden co-hosted the third Humanitarian Senior Officials Meeting on the humanitarian crisis in Yemen.

Democracy is worth protecting – every day. The freedom to choose, speak, think and love can never be taken for granted. The same applies to people’s right to exercise influence, vote and be treated equally under the law. Sweden will continue to do all it can to be a strong voice and actor for democratic development in the world. We are now stepping up our efforts to protect democracy.

No country can tackle the world’s challenges alone: wars and conflicts, climate change, poverty, lack of equality, lack of respect for human rights, nuclear weapons proliferation – unfortunately the list is long. International cooperation is vital – and it makes us stronger. Sweden remains a firm and tireless voice for more – not less – cooperation.

Sweden has long been at the forefront of promoting, protecting and safeguarding democracy throughout the world. The MFA’s drive for democracy will deepen and strengthen these efforts. “The drive for democracy is a reaction to the pushback against democracy around the world. When authoritarian powers grow stronger, the foundation of our safety and security is under threat. Sweden has a long tradition and strong engagement in the area of human rights. We are now pulling out all the stops to protect democracy,” says Annika Ben David, Ambassador for Human Rights, Democracy and the Rule of Law.

The Ministry for Foreign Affairs has decided to extend the advice against travel introduced due to the COVID-19 pandemic. This decision means that the advice against non-essential travel to many countries around the world will be extended until 1 July. At the same time, more countries have been removed from the list.

How many people work at the Government Offices? What was the central government budget like last year? How many acts and ordinances were issued last year? The answer to these and other questions can be found in the Swedish Government Offices Yearbook 2020.