Gunilla Carlsson to New York for UN high-level meeting on Millennium Development Goals on 20-22 September
Sweden is working actively to ensure that the UN Millennium Development Goals are achieved. At the UN high-level meeting on the Millennium Development Goals in New York, Minister for International Development Cooperation Gunilla Carlsson will particularly highlight shortcomings concerning MDG 5 on maternal health.
Sweden has elected a new Riksdag
The newly elected Riksdag will gather at the opening of the Riksdag session on 5 October. Until then, the current Government will remain in power.
New foreign ambassadors in place
Flags are flying today outside the Ministry for Foreign Affairs offices in the Prince Royal's Palace at Gustav Adolfs Torg to mark five new foreign ambassadors presenting their letters of credence to His Majesty King Carl XVI Gustaf during a formal audience at Stockholm's Royal Palace. The new ambassadors are from Poland, Denmark, Iraq, Greece and Moldova.
Minister for Trade hosted iftar dinner
Today is the start of the Eid al-Fitr celebrations, the festival that concludes the fasting month of Ramadan for Muslims around the world. In early September, Minister for Trade Ewa Björling hosted an iftar dinner at the Ministry for Foreign Affairs in Stockholm. This traditional evening meal breaks the daily fast at sunset during the month of Ramadan. Around 20 representatives of Muslim organisations in Sweden participated, including imams, youth leaders and researchers. The feature above includes interviews with Jan Henningsson, Senior Adviser at the Ministry for Foreign Affairs, Ewa Björling, Minister for Trade, Fazeela Selberg Zaib, Desk Officer for Islamic Relief, and Abdulkader Habib, Director of Kista Folk High School.
Agreement with South Korea on holiday employment
Today Minister for Migration and Asylum Policy Tobias Billström and the Ambassador of South Korea in Stockholm signed an agreement making it easier for young adults from Sweden and South Korea to work temporarily in the other country.
Swedish election observers to Kyrgyzstan
The Government decided today to send one election monitor, nine election observers and one statistician to Kyrgyzstan ahead of the parliamentary elections on 10 October. The decision to send election monitors follows a request from the Organisation for Security and Cooperation in Europe (OSCE). Sida, Swedish International Development Cooperation Agency, is responsible for the recruitment and training of Swedish election observers.
Music and fashion to put Sweden on the map
Swedish music, fashion and digital games are a few industries that can promote the image of Sweden abroad. They are three creative industries that have a good reputation beyond our borders. This is why the Government is now investing even more in the experience industry, especially since we have seen that activities previously conducted abroad have generated a lot of interest and received a positive response.
Andreas Carlgren presented the priorities to tackle the environmental challenges of the Baltic Sea
Wednesday 25 August, Sweden hosts a meeting of environment ministers on the Baltic Sea environment. Ministers and high-ranking representatives of all Baltic Sea states will attend the seminar entitled "Building marine policy on best available knowledge". This is the first meeting under the Swedish Chairmanship of Baltic Sea cooperation body HELCOM. Minister for the Environment Andreas Carlgren presented the increased efforts to save the Baltic Sea environment.
Mats Odell gives speech at seminar about slum areas
On Friday, 20 August 09:00, Mats Odell, Minister for Local Government and Financial Markets, is to give the introductory address at an international seminar focusing on the challenges and opportunities posed by slum areas in developing countries. The seminar will also deal with how financial markets could be adapted in order to better serve those who are most disadvantaged.
Improving the conditions of slum dwellers
On Thursday 19 August, Sweden's Minister for Local Government and Financial Markets Mats Odell will launch the Board of Governors' meeting of Urban Poor Fund International (UPFI) in Stockholm. UPFI is a branch of Slum Dwellers International (SDI), a confederation of country-level organisations of the urban poor in the Global South. UPFI capital is used for projects in the land, infrastructure and housing sectors. Participants at the press briefing in connection with the meeting are Jockin Arputham, President of Slum Dwellers International, India, Michael Werikhe, Minister of Housing, Uganda, and Mats Odell.
