Trade and investment promotion

The OECD Working Group on Bribery has since 2012 repeatedly urged Sweden to reform its laws to ensure the investigation and prosecution of companies that bribe foreign public officials to obtain advantages in international business. Sweden’s legal provisions to hold companies liable for foreign bribery do not fully meet the requirements of the OECD Convention on Combating Bribery of Foreign Public Officials in International Business Transactions.

On Wednesday 12 June, Minister for Justice and Migration Morgan Johansson will hold a press briefing with Drago Kos, Chair of the OECD Working Group on Bribery.

Making the entire Nordic region the first integrated 5G zone and getting Swedish companies to export more. Listen to Minister for Foreign Trade with responsibility for Nordic affairs Ann Linde talk about some of her priorities during this electoral period.

Swedish trade with the rest of the world is constantly increasing. Today, three quarters of Sweden’s goods exports go to Europe. We export most to Germany, followed by Norway, Finland, Denmark, the United States and the Netherlands. We want to help Swedish businesses find new trading partners, businesses and markets to increase their global sales. At the same time, we also want to help foreign businesses and individuals who want to do business with Sweden find the right entry points.

When Prime Minister Stefan Löfven meets his colleagues in Brussels on 21–22 March, Brexit will dominate the meeting’s first day. The EU heads of state and government will also address the EU’s long-term climate strategy and discuss jobs, growth and competitiveness.

The Government’s prize for extraordinary services to Swedish music exports in 2018 has been awarded to composer and producer Ludwig Göransson. The Government’s 2018 Special Prize for long-standing contributions to Swedish music exports has been awarded this year to Thomas Johansson, Live Nation. The commendation for achievements of particular importance to the internationalisation of Swedish music has been awarded to Musikmakarna and Ulla Sjöström.

The Government’s Music Export Prize is awarded every year to an artist who has been internationally successful during the preceding year and has contributed to Swedish musical export success and to a positive image of Sweden. The winner will be announced by Minister for Foreign Trade, with responsibility for Nordic affairs, Ann Linde at a ceremony at the Ministry for Foreign Affairs on Wednesday 6 March at 14.30.

On 13 February, Minister for Foreign Affairs Margot Wallström presented the 2019 Statement of Foreign Policy in the Riksdag. Check against delivery.

In October 2014, Sweden became the first country in the world to launch a feminist foreign policy. This means applying a systematic gender equality perspective throughout the whole foreign policy agenda. This handbook should be a resource for international work relating to gender equality and all women’s and girls’ full enjoyment of human rights. It contains a selection of methods and experiences that can provide examples and inspira¬tion for further work of the Swedish Foreign Service, other parts of the civil service and society as a whole. The handbook also describes the first four years of working with a feminist foreign policy. Thereby, it responds to the considerable national and international interest in this policy.

Migration, EU–US relations, and security and defence will be on the agenda when Prime Minister Stefan Löfven meets his European Council colleagues on 28–29 June.