Isabella Lövin

The objective of Swedish international development cooperation is to create opportunities for better living conditions for people living in poverty and under oppression. The starting point is the policy framework for Swedish development cooperation and humanitarian assistance, as well as the principles of aid effectiveness and effective development cooperation. Development cooperation shall contribute towards implementing the 2030 Agenda, the Addis Ababa Action Agenda and the Paris Agreement on climate change.

Climate change is one of the Government’s top-three issues, alongside jobs and education. The Government has adopted a guest researcher programme under which US environment and climate researchers can be invited to conduct research in Sweden for a period of up to three years.

Efficient and effective tax administration is fundamental to the long-term financing of a functioning society, poverty reduction and the achievement of the goals of the 2030 Agenda. Sweden has therefore invited representatives of governments in 160 countries, agencies, international and regional organisations, civil society and the business sector to exchange experiences of tax capacity-building. The Stockholm Tax Conference will be held on 30–31 May.

This is a press release published by both the Government of Sweden and the Government of Canada.

‘The Politics of Peace’ will be the theme when the Ministry for Foreign Affairs and the Stockholm International Peace Research Institute (SIPRI) host the fifth annual Stockholm Forum on Peace and Development on 7–9 May. The Forum will gather a number of international experts for discussion and debate on how global cooperation on conflict prevention and sustainable peace can be strengthened. The speakers include Minister for Foreign Affairs Margot Wallström and Deputy Prime Minister and Minister for International Development Cooperation and Climate Isabella Lövin.

Sweden has today made pledges of more than SEK 2 billion towards the Global Environmental Facility. This entails an increase of Sweden’s contribution to the fund of more than 50 per cent for the period 2018–2022, compared with the period 2014–2018.

Opinion piece by Minister for International Development Cooperation and Climate, and Deputy Prime Minister Ms Isabella Lövin in The Guardian, 17 April 2018.

More than 700 gender equality advocates from more than 100 countries gathered at the Stockholm Forum on Gender Equality to exchange experiences and mobilise efforts for global gender equality. The participants included key figures from civil society organisations, business, academia and politics. They all have the same goal: a gender-equal world.

Today sees the opening of the Stockholm Forum on Gender Equality – a global conference with 600 participants from over 100 countries. The Forum will bring together activists, academics, politicians and entrepreneurs who put their energies into making the world more gender-equal.

Funds totalling SEK 1 billion will be used to enhance gender equality for women and girls around the world. This was decided by the Government at its meeting on 12 April. It is the first time that Sweden’s Government has adopted a global thematic strategy for gender equality.

Award-winning author Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie, Executive Director of UN Women Phumzile Mlambo-Ngcuka, UNDP Administrator Achim Steiner and human rights counsellor Colin Gonsalves are some of the 500 gender equality actors who will participate in the Stockholm Forum on Gender Equality on 15–17 April. The global forum is about strengthening women’s and girls’ rights, representation and access to resources.

Violent conflicts throughout the world cause enormous human suffering, and they also have a major economic impact. A new study by the UN and the World Bank – Pathways for Peace – shows that violent conflicts cause a drop in global GDP of 13.3 per cent per year. According to the study, investments in conflict prevention measures can mean savings of between USD 5 billion and 70 billion per year.

Reduced emissions, increased resilience to climate change, and more sustainable management of water, ecosystems and natural resources. These are some of the goals aimed for in development efforts. In March 2018, the Government decided on the new strategy for Sweden’s global development cooperation in the areas of environmental sustainability, sustainable climate and ocean, and sustainable use of natural resources. The strategy applies for the five years 2018–2020.

Reduced emissions, improved resilience to climate change, and more sustainable management of water, ecosystems and natural resources. These are some of the goals aimed for in development efforts.

The United Nations Relief and Works Agency for Palestine Refugees in the Near East (UNRWA) is facing the most difficult financial situation since its inception in 1949. Sweden’s Minister for Foreign Affairs and the co-chairing Foreign Ministers of Jordan and Egypt are therefore convening an extraordinary ministerial conference in Rome on 15 March to mobilise both political and financial support for the Agency, and to find ways to assure sustainable forms of financing for UNRWA.

Sixteen million young girls and teenagers give birth each year – most of whom live in low-income countries. Unwanted and forced pregnancies can be prevented. But the right to contraception and safe abortions is currently under attack.

Within the framework of this strategy, Sweden’s development cooperation with Sudan is to contribute to sustainable peace, improved conditions for good public service delivery, and strengthened resilience. The strategy will apply in the period 2018–2022 and provide a total of SEK 1 200 million.

Leaders from all over the world will gather in Stockholm to intensify international efforts for gender equality. The Stockholm Forum on Gender Equality brings together close to 500 key representatives from civil society organisations, governments, business, and academia. The aim is to find solutions, take new initiatives, and strengthen co-operation in the international fight for gender equality.

The Swedish Government and the United Nations World Food Programme (WFP) today signed a Strategic Partnership Agreement, with Sweden making a historic commitment of approximately US$370 million in flexible funds to WFP over the next four years (2018 to 2021). The contribution is the largest ever made by a donor within a WFP Strategic Partnership Agreement.

The Government has decided to allocate SEK 800 million over four years (2018–2021) to the Strategy for Sweden’s regional development cooperation in sub-Saharan Africa. The strategy has been updated to more clearly focus on the link between humanitarian assistance and long-term development, particularly in the Horn of Africa countries. The Government considers that there is considerable potential for Sweden to contribute to increased resilience to crises and disasters, and to conflict prevention and conflict management regionally.