New ambassador to Afghanistan
Today, 20 May, the Government appointed the Secretary-General of the Swedish Committee for Afghanistan, Torbjörn Pettersson, as Sweden's Ambassador to Afghanistan. At the same time, Ambassador Krister Bringéus was appointed Senior Civilian Representative in Mazar-e Sharif to increase the overall political presence in northern Afghanistan.
Carl Bildt in Afghanistan
Minister for Foreign Affairs Carl Bildt has travelled to Afghanistan for discussions on the new European focus concerning the policy for the country's development. He will be in different parts of the country over the next three days, including a visit to the Swedish soldiers in Mazar-e-Sharif.
"The trip will take place immediately after President Karzai's visit to Washington and immediately ahead of the 'peace jirga', and thus provide a good opportunity to assess political developments," says Mr Bildt.
Another important discussion topic is the preparations for Afghanistan's parliamentary elections this autumn.
New Ambassadors in Stockholm
Four newly appointed ambassadors will present their letters of credence to HM The King on 12 May. The four ambassadors are from Zambia, Switzerland, Italy and Panama.
Minister for Foreign Affairs Carl Bildt to the Nordic-African Foreign Ministers meeting in Senegal
Minister for Foreign Affairs Carl Bildt is to attend the Nordic-African Foreign Ministers Meeting to be held in Dakar, Senegal, on 12-13 May. The meeting is an informal forum between foreign ministers from ten African countries and the Nordic countries.
New ambassadors to Serbia and the United Arab Emirates
The Government today approved the appointment of two new ambassadors. Christer Asp will be Sweden's Ambassador to Serbia and Magnus Schöldtz will be Ambassador to the United Arab Emirates.
Sweden defends women subjected to sexual violence in conflicts
"Sexual violence against women in conflict areas is not cultural, just criminal," say Margot Wallström at a meeting with Gunilla Carlsson.
She points out that there is currently a political opportunity to draw attention to the problem of sexual violence against women in conflicts. Ms Wallström is firmly resolved that it is possible to introduce change in the right direction. It is important that UN Member States give priority to the issue of sexual violence against women in conflict areas and place it on the political agenda. But what is most important is the execution - the countries of the world must exert themselves to bring a definitive end to these ruthless assaults against women.
In connection with her visit, Minister for International Development Cooperation Gunilla Carlsson presented Sweden's extensive work against gender-based violence against women in conflict.
Sweden to open six embassies
The Government today decided to open embassies in Kigali (Rwanda), La Paz (Bolivia), Monrovia (Liberia), Ouagadougou (Burkina Faso), Pristina (Kosovo)and Tirana (Albania).
"We see a clear need to strengthen Sweden's diplomatic presence in these locations, particularly in view of our substantial development cooperation in these countries," says Minister for Foreign Affairs Carl Bildt.
Ewa Björling and her Canadian colleague discussed free trade
On 3 May, Minister for Trade Ewa Björling met her Canadian colleague Peter Van Loan in Stockholm. At the meeting they both noted that there are many similarities between Sweden and Canada. One of these is that both countries advocate free trade.
Carl Bildt spoke in New York about limiting nuclear arms
Carl Bildt spoke today, 3 May, at the opening of the Non-Proliferation Treaty (NPT) Review Conference in New York.
Mr Bildt spoke about the vision of a world free of nuclear weapons and the challenges to achieving this. He gave three examples from the past year of how non-proliferation efforts are moving ahead: the UN Security Council Summit, the new START treaty between the US and Russia on making further substantial reductions to the countries' strategic nuclear arsenals and the successful Nuclear Security Summit in Washington last month.
Tasting in progress
On 28 April a TV team took over the residence of the Swedish Ambassador in Jakarta. Together with Indonesian top chef Teuku Kelana, Ambassador Ewa Polano prepared Swedish dishes and talked about Swedish cuisine. The TV programme will be aired on Indonesian channel MetroTV later in May.
