Transport and infrastructure

Open Letter by the Coastal States of the Baltic Sea and the North Sea with Iceland on the Growing Risks to Maritime Safety to the International Maritime Community.

Sweden has been elected to the Council of the UN’s International Maritime Organization (IMO) for the 2026–2027 term. This means that Sweden will continue to be able to influence global shipping’s development and advocate competitive and sustainable shipping.

On 15–17 October, Minister for Foreign Affairs Maria Malmer Stenergard and Minister for Infrastructure and Housing Andreas Carlson travelled to Seoul in conjunction with Crown Princess Victoria and Prince Daniel’s visit to South Korea.

On 15–17 October, Minister for Foreign Affairs Maria Malmer Stenergard and Minister for Infrastructure and Housing Andreas Carlson will travel to Seoul to take part in Crown Princess Victoria and Prince Daniel’s official visit to South Korea. Ms Malmer Stenergard will meet with her South Korean counterpart, Minister of Foreign Affairs Cho Hyun. Mr Carlson will meet with the Minister for Trade and the Vice Minister at the Ministry for Trade, Industry and Resources.

Today, 1 July 2025, marks the 25th anniversary of the Öresund Bridge. Sweden and Denmark are close to each other in terms of culture, values and common objectives – and their cooperation has never been closer than it is now. To mark the anniversary, Sweden’s Prime Minister Ulf Kristersson and Denmark’s Prime Minister Mette Frederiksen adopted a declaration with the objective of making the Öresund region safer and more competitive and simplifying living and working across the border.

On May 16, Sweden signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) concerning the protection of critical undersea infrastructure in the Baltic Sea. The MoU was concluded with the Baltic Sea countries within the EU, along with Norway, Iceland and the EU.

Sweden is running for a seat on the International Maritime Organisation (IMO) Council. The Council is the IMO’s executive organ comprising 40 members. The candidacy is for the 2026–2027 term.

The Nordic transport ministers from Denmark, Finland, Iceland, Norway and Sweden have gathered in Gothenburg on 14 August 2024 and discussed issues of common interest.

Sweden has been elected to the Council of the UN’s International Maritime Organization (IMO). This will give Sweden greater opportunity to influence global shipping and push for safer, more climate-friendly maritime traffic with reduced emissions.

Slovenia has been hit by torrential rainfall this month, with downpours destroying a number of bridges. The Swedish Government has therefore decided that the Swedish Transport Administration will donate three temporary bridges to Slovenia.

Sweden is running for a seat on the International Maritime Organization (IMO) Council. The Council is the IMO’s executive body comprising 40 members. The candidacy is for the 2024–2025 term.

On 27–28 February, Minister for Energy, Business and Industry Ebba Busch and Minister for Infrastructure and Housing Andreas Carlson will host an informal meeting of EU ministers in Stockholm. On the agenda are discussions on the future of energy and transport in the EU.

The lifting of exit restrictions from China, combined with the increased and widespread spread of COVID-19 in the country, has raised the question of introducing entry restrictions, including in Europe. Sweden is now preparing to introduce certain such restrictions requiring a negative COVID-19 test. Travellers from China need to be prepared for decisions being taken at short notice.

Sweden will hold the Presidency of the EU Strategy for the Baltic Sea Region from 1 July until 30 June 2023.

Sweden’s target is net zero emissions by 2045, at the latest, and negative emissions thereafter. The net zero target means that, in principle, greenhouse gas emissions from the transport sector need to be zero by 2045. Greenhouse gas emissions from the transport sector account for about one-third of emissions in Sweden, and road transport is the main source of these emissions.

To further accelerate the electrification of the transport sector, the Swedish National Road and Transport Research Institute (VTI) was commissioned by the Government to help build knowledge in this area. This need has been clearly highlighted in the work of the Government’s strategic innovation partnership programme Climate neutral industry.

The Chairman’s conclusions, called the “Stockholm Declaration”, was presented as the outcome document of the Third Global Ministerial Conference on Road Safety 2020.

The Barents cooperation has laid the foundation for far-reaching people-to-people cooperation and high-level political dialogue in the European Arctic. The 25th anniversary of cooperation was marked by a seminar at the Permanent Mission of Sweden to the European Union on 5 June to highlight cooperation in an EU perspective and to look ahead.

Total investments in the area of environment and climate for 2018 amount to SEK 5 billion, allocated to several different expenditure areas. Minister for the Environment Karolina Skog is proud that Sweden has once again presented a budget with a clear environmental profile.