Mikael Damberg

On 8–9 July, Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe will visit Sweden at the invitation of Prime Minister Stefan Löfven. They will meet to discuss deeper economic cooperation, including innovation, the UN Security Council – of which both Sweden and Japan are members in 2017 – and the 150th anniversary of diplomatic relations between Sweden and Japan which will be celebrated next year.

The Swedish Government adopted the following ownership policy for state-owned enterprises on 22 December 2016. The policy applies from 1 January 2017 and supersedes the previous ownership policy adopted in 2015. The Government’s guidelines for external reporting and guidelines for remuneration and other terms of employment for senior executives are included in the state’s ownership policy.

Prime Minister Stefan Löfven will be in China on 26–28 June. He will be joined on the trip by several ministers and a business delegation with a focus on green innovation and sustainability. Mr Löfven will also have talks with China’s Premier Li Keqiang and speak at the World Economic Forum.

Sweden is innovative, vibrant and globally competitive. According to the OECD and the World Economic Forum, Sweden ranks at the top end of the scale in many rankings. This includes economic development, subjective wellbeing and social connections, environmental quality, health status and health care, gender equality, personal safety, education and skills.

On the afternoon of 31 January, Minister for Enterprise and Innovation Mikael Damberg held roundtable discussions focusing on innovation and cooperation for a sustainable future at the Royal Swedish Academy of Engineering Sciences. Among the participants were representatives of German and Swedish businesses, institutions and government agencies.

Sweden and Germany are now joining forces in a new innovation partnership between the two countries. This is a unique agreement on cooperation to promote innovative societal solutions, new export products and stronger competitiveness. The agreement will be concluded in connection with the visit of Federal Chancellor Angela Merkel to Sweden on Tuesday 31 January.

The Government's efforts to strengthen Sweden's life sciences and the significance of policy innovations in developing the reception and introduction system for newly arrived immigrants were two of the topics discussed when the National Innovation Council held its first meeting of the year on Thursday 25 February.

The Swedish Government considers that the European Commission broke the rules when it authorised the continued use of lead chromates in the EU. The decision is bad for people’s health and distorts competition for responsible businesses that have stopped using these hazardous substances. The Government therefore decided today to refer the Commission’s decision to the Court of Justice of the European Union for a preliminary ruling.

The central government will contribute SEK 40 million per year to the Nobel Center’s operations from the day it opens and the following three years. In all, with increased support from Stockholm City, the Center will receive SEK 60 million per year over a three-year period. This amounts to SEK 180 million the first three years. This was announced today by Minister for Enterprise and Innovation Mikael Damberg, Minister for Higher Education and Research Helene Hellmark Knutsson and Stockholm’s Commissioner of the City Planning and Culture Division, Roger Mogert.

On Monday 12 September, the Government welcomed a Chinese business delegation consisting of some thirty corporate leaders and some twenty Swedish companies to Rosenbad for talks on investment opportunities in Sweden. Prime Minister Stefan Löfven and Minister for Enterprise and Innovation Mikael Damberg hosted the meeting, along with Business Sweden and the Sweden China Trade Council. The aim of the meeting was to highlight the qualities that make Sweden unique as an investment country, and to show the Government’s engagement in business relations with China.