Ann Linde

Today, the Government appointed Robert Rydberg, currently Sweden’s Ambassador to Rome, as new State Secretary for Foreign Affairs at the Ministry for Foreign Affairs. Annika Söder, who has held the position for the past five years, is leaving to work in peace promotion and conflict resolution.

The Ministry for Foreign Affairs (MFA) is responsible for Sweden’s relations with other countries and international organisations, and for development cooperation policy and international trade policy. The MFA together with more than 100 missions abroad make up the Swedish Foreign Service. A mission abroad may be be an embassy, consulate-general, delegation or representation. The MFA is part of the Government Offices and is the largest ministry.

Sweden was today appointed Chair of the Organisation for Security and Cooperation in Europe (OSCE) in 2021. The decision was taken unanimously by the OSCE’s 57 participating States at the organisation’s Ministerial Council in Bratislava, Slovakia, on Thursday.

The Government today appointed Ambassador Anna Karin Eneström as new Head of the Permanent Mission of Sweden to the United Nations (UN) in New York.

Strengthened engagement for democracy was announced in the 2019 Statement of Foreign Policy and in the Swedish Foreign Service’s strategic vision for the electoral period. Sweden will stand up for democratic principles and support democracy in all contexts. On 21 November 2019, the Drive for Democracy was presented to the Riksdag Committee on Foreign Affairs by Minister for Foreign Affairs Ann Linde and Minister for International Development Cooperation Peter Eriksson.

The King and Queen of Sweden will pay a State Visit to India on 2–6 December 2019 at the invitation of President Ram Nath Kovind.

Sweden has the world's first feminist government. In practice, this means a commitment to building a society in which women and men, girls and boys can live their lives to their full potential. Gender equality is a matter of human rights, of democracy and of justice. It is also an engine driving social development and creating genuine change in society and in people's lives.

The Foreign Ministers and high-level representatives of Denmark, Finland, Iceland, Norway, Russia, Sweden and the European Union participated together with representatives of the Barents Regional Council, indigenous peoples, regional bodies, observer states and invited guests in the XVII Session of the Barents Euro-Arctic Council (BEAC) under the Chairmanship of Sweden in Umeå on 3 October 2019.

Check against delivery.