Foreign and security policy

On Monday 1 June, Minister for Foreign Affairs Maria Malmer Stenergard presented the Government’s new Arctic Strategy at the Defences Museum in Boden. In the new Strategy, the Government clarifies Sweden’s Arctic policy interests and priorities. Swedish Arctic policy is reinforced by defining the links between security policy, resilient communities, the economy, and the environment and climate.

Ukraine’s highest priority is air defence. To strengthen Ukrainian air defence, Sweden and Ukraine launch a major defence deal, in which Ukraine acquires Swedish Gripen fighter jets.

On 20–21 May, Prime Minister Ulf Kristersson received NATO Secretary General Mark Rutte. The meeting focused on Sweden’s total defence, civil defence and resilience.

The Ministers of Foreign Affairs of Nordic-Baltic countries firmly reject Russia’s blatant disinformation campaign and false claims, supported by Belarus, following the airspace violations in the Nordic-Baltic region. We strongly condemn Russia’s threats of the use of force directed at Latvia and other countries in the region.

Joint Statement on Arctic Security from the Arctic Allies – Canada, Kingdom of Denmark including Greenland and the Faroe Islands, Finland, Iceland, Norway, Sweden, and the United States of America

On 21–22 May, Minister for Foreign Affairs Maria Malmer Stenergard will welcome Allies to a meeting of NATO Ministers of Foreign Affairs in Helsingborg.

Opinion piece by Minister for Foreign Affairs Maria Malmer Stenergard in The New York Times, 20 May 2026.

On 17 May, Prime Minister Ulf Kristersson received Prime Minister of India Narendra Modi in Gothenburg. During the visit, the leaders held bilateral meetings and participated in discussions with European business leaders on innovation, climate and trade. HRH Crown Princess Victoria, Minister for Foreign Affairs Maria Malmer Stenergard, and India’s Minister for External Affairs Subrahmanyam Jaishankar also participated in the programme.

On 17 May, Prime Minister Ulf Kristersson received Prime Minister of India Narendra Modi in Gothenburg on the occasion of Sweden and India upgrading their bilateral relations to a strategic partnership. Mr Kristersson and Mr Modi also met with the President of the European Commission Ursula von der Leyen.

Joint Statement on the India–Sweden Summit, ‘Establishment of a Strategic Partnership’ Gothenburg, 17 May 2026

On Thursday 21 May, Prime Minister Ulf Kristersson will receive NATO Secretary General Mark Rutte for a bilateral meeting and joint visit focused on Sweden’s total defence, civil defence and resilience. In conjunction with the meeting, they will hold a joint press briefing in Revinge, Skåne.

On 17 May, Prime Minister Ulf Kristersson will receive Prime Minister of India Narendra Modi in Gothenburg. During the visit, the leaders will hold bilateral meetings and participate in discussions with European business leaders on innovation and trade. Mr Kristersson and Mr Modi will also hold joint press statements, together with President of the European Commission Ursula von der Leyen. HRH The Crown Princess will also participate in the programme.

On 11 May, the Ministry for Foreign Affairs, in cooperation with the Stockholm Centre for Eastern European Studies at the Swedish Institute of International Affairs, is organising a conference in Stockholm on youth and gender equality issues for a future democratic Belarus. The forum gathers youth representative of the Belarusian democratic movement and civil society representatives, decision-makers and experts from the EU and Sweden. The aim is to highlight the importance of young people’s political participation to the democratic development of Belarus.

Germany is Sweden’s most important trading partner, and the world’s fourth-largest economy. On Wednesday 6 May, Prime Minister Ulf Kristersson received Germany’s Federal President Frank-Walter Steinmeier in Stockholm for a meeting on regional security policy, total defence and cooperation between Sweden and Germany.

On Tuesday 5 May, Prime Minister Ulf Kristersson received President of the Republic of Lithuania Gitanas Nausėda for a bilateral meeting in Stockholm. Minister for EU Affairs Jessica Rosencrantz also participated.

We, the Ministers of Foreign Affairs and government representatives of the NB8, met in Kuressaare, Estonia on 29-30 April 2026, at a time of rapid change in the international security environment, with heightened geopolitical tensions, Russia continuing its war of aggression against Ukraine, and an urgent need for Europe to step up and take greater responsibility for shaping its future.

On Wednesday 6 May, Prime Minister Ulf Kristersson is to receive Germany’s Federal President Frank-Walter Steinmeier for a bilateral meeting in Stockholm.

Minister for Foreign Affairs Maria Malmer Stenergard is attending a meeting of Nordic-Baltic foreign ministers (NB8) in Kuressaare, Estonia, on 29–30 April. The agenda includes support to Ukraine, constraining Russia’s aggression in the region, boosting European security, current NATO issues and developments in the Middle East.

The EU’s 20th package of sanctions includes comprehensive measures that hit the Russian economy, including Russia’s energy revenues and the shadow fleet. The package also includes measures against sanctions evasion, crypto services and access to sensitive technology used on the battlefield.

The Government takes an extremely serious view of the continuing settlement policy and the increased settler violence in the West Bank, and is therefore proposing new measures in the form of an expanded differentiation policy. The Israeli Government’s actions in the West Bank violate international law.