FOREIGN
RELATIONS
Swedish foreign policy is based on the premise that national security is best served by staying out of military alliances in peacetime in order to remain neutral in the event of war. In 2002 Sweden redefined its security position from neutral to one of non-alignment in peacetime with the ability to cooperate with military alliances in peacekeeping and peace-building missions. Internationally, the Swedish Government gives special focus to disarmament, arms control, and nuclear nonproliferation. Sweden has greatly contributed to numerous international peacekeeping operations under UN, EU, and NATO auspices, including the NATO-led peacekeeping forces in the Balkans (KFOR). The country contributes to the International Security Assistance Force (ISAF) in Afghanistan, and in March 2006 assumed leadership of the Provincial Reconstruction Team in Mazar-e-Sharif. Sweden also is part of EUFOR's mission to create peace and stability in eastern Chad and the northeast part of the Central African Republic, the area bordering Darfur.
Sweden is an active and vocal participant in the United Nations, the World Bank,
World Trade Organization (WTO), Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO), the
International Labor Organization (ILO), International Atomic Energy Agency
(IAEA), United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization
(UNESCO), World Health Organization (WHO), and other international institutions.
In January 1995 Sweden became a full member of the European Union after a
referendum was passed with a 52.3% majority. Sweden became a member partially
because it was increasingly isolated outside the economic framework of the
Maastricht Treaty. Sweden is a member of NATO's Partnership for Peace (PFP).
Sweden also cooperates closely with its Nordic neighbors, formally in economic
and social matters through the Nordic Council of Ministers and informally in
political matters through direct consultation.
The Swedish Government does not consider its nonalignment status to preclude it
from being outspoken on international issues. Government leaders focus political
and financial attention on fostering democracy in developing countries, paying
particular attention to key African nations. During the Cold War, Sweden was
suspicious of the superpowers, which it saw as making decisions affecting small
countries without always consulting those countries. With the end of the Cold
War, that suspicion has lessened somewhat, although Sweden still chooses to
remain nonaligned.
U.S.-SWEDEN
RELATIONS
Friendship and cooperation between the United States and Sweden is strong and close. The United States welcomes Sweden's membership in NATO's PFP and our ongoing cooperation in promoting democracy and freedom. Swedish-American friendship is buttressed by the presence of nearly 14 million Americans of Swedish heritage. Both countries in 1988 celebrated the 350th anniversary of the first Swedish settlement in the United States.
Embassy Stockholm's "One Big Thing" Alternative Energy Initiative
In September 2006 Embassy Stockholm launched the "One Big Thing" initiative, a mission-wide project to collaborate with Sweden on achieving a breakthrough in alternative energy. As the Embassy's highest priority, the One Big Thing encompasses four goals focusing on technology/research and development; financing and investment; public awareness; and policy. Accomplishments to date include a $5 million grant from the U.S. Government's Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency (DARPA) for Swedish Biofuels AB, a company that produces biofuels for jet engines. The Embassy assisted Volvo in bringing its public/private partnership funding proposal for research on improved efficiency for heavy trucks to the attention of senior Department of Energy (DOE) officials, resulting in a $12 million agreement between the two governments and Volvo to fund several different projects. The Embassy arranged for the Saab 9.5 Biofuel car to be sent to DOE for testing to validate performance claims. In April 2007 Ambassador Wood introduced 30 Swedish alternative energy companies to American venture capital firms at a California seminar. As of January 2008, this list of investible companies had grown to include 47 companies. In August 2008 the first holder of the Fulbright Distinguished Chair in Alternative Energy Technology arrived at Chalmers University in Goteborg. This new American Fulbright position was created through a donation from Sweden's Marianne and Marcus Wallenberg Foundation. The donation supports the One Big Thing in the short term with teaching and research projects, and in the long term by establishing linkages between universities and scholars. In May 2007 the Embassy and the State Department in Washington initiated a meeting between President Bush and Prime Minister Reinfeldt at the White House to discuss climate change and U.S.-Swedish cooperation, and facilitated the Prime Minister's visit to the National Renewable Energy Laboratory in Colorado. These meetings led to the conclusion and signing of a U.S.-Sweden biofuels cooperation agreement in June 2007.
Principal U.S. Officials
Ambassador--Michael M. Wood
Deputy Chief of Mission--Robert J. Silverman
Political Counselor--Casey Christensen
Economic Counselor--Olivia Hilton
Agricultural Counselor--Roger Wentzel
Public Affairs Counselor--Robert B. Hilton
Administrative Counselor--Mary J. Tierlynck
Commercial Counselor--Keith Curtis
Defense Attaché--Col. Bruce H. Acker
Consul--Jonas Wechsler
The U.S. Embassy in Stockholm is at Dag Hammarskjölds Väg 31, S-115 89 Stockholm, Sweden. Telephone: 46-8-783-5300, Fax: 46-8-661-1964, Internet: http://stockholm.usembassy.gov/
