Trade and investment promotion

Innovation and globalisation – two areas that go hand in hand for Sweden’s continued national growth and development. Since Prime Minister Stefan Löfven established the National Innovation Council in February 2015, several initiatives have been taken aimed at promoting Sweden’s exchanges with leading innovation communities. There is greater focus today on the link between innovation and globalisation, and this was discussed at the National Innovation Council’s meeting on 28 August.

The EU and Japan have reached an agreement in principle on both an Economic Partnership Agreement and a political Strategic Partnership Agreement, which both regions say represents an ‘economic landmark’. “Two of the world’s largest economies have agreed to conclude a free trade agreement at a time when protectionist winds are blowing around the world. This sends an important signal to the rest of the world,” says Minister for EU Affairs and Trade Ann Linde.

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.

To create as good conditions as possible ahead of the coming negotiations with the United Kingdom, the Government has so far tasked four expert agencies with analysing the consequences of Brexit in a few specific areas. On 14 March, it was the turn of the National Board of Trade to submit its report.

The EU Member States today selected Lars Karlsson as their joint candidate for the election of a new Secretary General of the World Customs Organisation (WCO). The WCO brings together 180 of the world’s customs administrations and has the primary task of facilitation trade and customs procedures for its members.

The Government’s 2016 Music Export Prize for extraordinary services to Swedish music exports is awarded to artist and songwriter Zara Larsson. The Government’s 2016 Special Prize for long-standing contributions to Swedish music exports is awarded to opera singer Nina Stemme. The Government continues in 2017 to grant the organization Export Music Sweden business support to increase their initiatives to launch Swedish songwriters, artists and music industry businesses in strategically important markets.

Prime Minister Stefan Löfven visited Iran on 11–12 February at the invitation of President Hassan Rouhani. A business delegation led by Minister for EU Affairs and Trade Ann Linde accompanied Mr Löfven on the trip. The delegation included Business Sweden and a number of other government agencies. Anders Ferbe, Chairman of IF Metall (metalworkers union), also took part.

On 11–12 February, Prime Minister Stefan Löfven will visit Iran at the invitation of President Hassan Rouhani. Discussions will primarily concern bilateral cooperation, trade issues and developments in the region, with a focusing on Syria.

Today, Thursday, the Swedish Government decided to actively work for the relocation of the European Medicines Agency (EMA) to Sweden, and to the Stockholm-Uppsala region. The process leading up to the decision by the Government was started after the British people's decision to leave the EU.

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.