Speech by Minister for International Development Cooperation and Foreign Trade at Join Sweden Summit

Your Royal Highness, Mr Prime Minister, panellists, dear friends and partners,

What inspiring stories we just heard! To imagine that Astra Zeneca and Microsoft have chosen Sweden for major investments. 

Today, we have also gathered hundreds of participants with different stories, different origins and different business solutions. But with one key thing in common: investments. I welcome you to Sweden!

Speaking of stories, I would like to begin by telling a short story of Sweden itself.

Let me take you back to around 150 years ago, to the second half of the 1800s. The Sherlock Holmes books were topping the bestseller charts, the hottest thing in technology was this thing called “a camera” and all the men wore funny hats.

But in Sweden, things were not that funny. We were a poor country, by many seen as a backwater on the outskirts of Europe. In fact, we were one of the poorest countries on the continent. So poor that the United Kingdom felt the need for an aid program for Sweden. Famine was still a looming threat, and our cities were crowded and unsanitary to a point we cannot imagine today.

But as a country, Sweden decided to pull ourselves up by our bootstraps. We started reforming at a pace unimaginable today.

• We allowed free movement inside the country and abolished domestic passports.
• We deregulated the professional market and allowed everyone to start businesses.
•  We lowered or abolished import tariffs and allowed our industry to compete on the global market.

By the 1950s, we were one of the richest countries on earth. In short, Sweden delivered.

It was not high taxes that made Sweden wealthy, it was not subsidies that created Spotify and it was not stiff regulations that brought 600 business leaders here today. Sweden's prosperity is built on hard work, risk taking and trade. 

Today, we are once again in an era of reform. From taxes to energy policy, the government is prioritizing growth and competitiveness. Today, Sweden is once again delivering.

Sweden delivers on technology. We have competitive energy solutions, advancements in quantum computing and AI and of course innovative firms in fields from connectivity to healthcare. From Spotify to Klarna, to Ericsson, we are home to some of the world’s most innovative firms. When you look at rankings of the number of corporate unicorns per capita, Stockholm is second only to Silicon Valley.

Together with the private sector, we have ensured widespread, high-speed, affordable internet connectivity. And as opposed to previous governments, this government has come down strongly in favour of nuclear power. We make sure that the industries of the future can continue to count on fossil free, stable electricity supplies.

We are, as I said, in a new era of reform and we welcome our friends from the whole world. Come join us on this journey.  

Sweden delivers on competitiveness. Both here in our own backyard as well as on the EU level. During the Swedish Presidency of the European Union, we made competitiveness our number one priority, and with results. Passion for regulation has been replaced by passion for simplification and innovation.

As I said, the government is prioritizing growth and competitiveness in all areas of reform.

• High-skilled immigration – since we took office, we have reduced the processing time, from over 100 days to under 20 days. 
• Environmental permits – if you want to build a factory, if you want to build a warehouse, if you want to build a datacenter, it will be faster and more predictable. 
• Tax cuts – We have cut taxes on income, we have cut taxes on fuel, and we have cut taxes on investments. Sweden now has the lowest tax burden in almost 50 years. 

Sweden delivers on investments. 

Our model has proven superior when it comes to research and innovation. Just consider the fact that Sweden spends more than any other EU-member state – more than 3,5 percent of GDP – on research and development. And, we have the second highest number of patents per capita in the world. 

We are here today, to help you in your business decisions in our country. You can count on the full support of Team Sweden, with today’s organizer Business Sweden at its helm! Whether you want to invest in, or increase your exports from, Sweden! 

Sweden delivers on trade. I don´t know about you, but I’ve noticed some protectionist winds lately. I want to make one thing absolutely clear: 

We are the most free-trade friendly country on earth. And in my book tariffs is the worst word in the dictionary. In my role as Minister, I vow to always be a supporter of free and rules-based trade. Sweden is open to the world.

We need more free trade-agreements, not fewer. Sweden is not in the business of closing our markets and relying on protectionism or state aid. Instead, you can count on us to push for more free trade agreements, from Latin America to South East Asia. By opening our markets to foreign nations and vice versa we continue on the path that once lifted us from poverty to prosperity.

Sweden delivers on capital markets. In the past ten years, more than 500 companies have listed at Nasdaq Stockholm. This is more than the total number of IPOs in France, Germany, the Netherlands and Spain combined. 

This is no coincidence. Sweden stands out for having, to quote the Financial Times’ article mentioned by the Prime Minister: “thriving capital markets that are backed by legions of investors”. Our pension funds and insurance companies, as well as retail investors, have long invested in stocks. In Sweden, there are nowadays more kids investing in shares and mutual funds than there are playing football.

Dear friends and partners, 

I began my speech by taking you back to a dark period not so long ago. When Sweden was a backwater on the outskirts of Europe with hunger and poverty ever present. From that to The Economist just a few weeks ago running a piece titled, “To see what European business could become, look to the Nordics”. We have come a long way. We are no longer a backwater. I may be biased, but even objectively speaking, isn’t it amazing how such a small country is punching above its weight in so many areas?

• We spend the largest amount of GDP on R&D in the EU.
• Swedish EQT is Europe’s largest private equity firm.
• We have the most publicly listed companies in the EU. 
• We have Koenigsegg, in small-town Ängelholm, which produces the world’s fastest car, IKEA from small-town Älmhult is the world’s largest furniture-seller and LKAB up in the north, has made the largest find in Europe of rare earth metals.
• We are the home of the pacemaker, Bluetooth, the seat belt and many more inventions.

Sweden is an innovative, thrifty and ambitious country. Together, we can do even greater things. In short, We. Are. Open. For. Business! 

Thank you.