Strategic Partnership between the United Kingdom and Sweden
The Governments of the United Kingdom and the Kingdom of Sweden have affirmed their mutual commitment to strengthening their strategic bilateral relations. They aim to enhance cooperation based on previous agreements such as the UK-Sweden Political Declaration of Solidarity in May 2022 and the Joint Leaders’ Statement of June 2023. Both governments have agreed to prioritise revitalised collaboration across various areas including security and defence, innovation, science, energy, climate, people-to-people connections, and trade and investment within their bilateral relationship.
The strategic partnership is divided into six key areas:
- Global Cooperation: “The United Kingdom and Sweden have forged a strong partnership, based on shared values and in support of freedom and democracy, multilateralism, an open and stable rules-based international order and the rule of law”.
- Security and Defence: “Our joint ambition out to 2035 is for an ever deeper, broader and more effective collaboration, as leading democracies, future NATO allies and defence industrial partners, across all key domains, to make the Euro-Atlantic area and wider world safer.”
- Science and Innovation: “The United Kingdom and Sweden recognise that our capacity for innovation is the key to solving the grand challenges of our time and is fundamental for sustainable economic development and job creation.”
- Energy, Nature & Climate Change: “The United Kingdom and Sweden will work to promote higher international ambitions on climate change, biodiversity loss and pollution and target joint cooperation to limit warming to 1.5℃.”
- People to People: “Both countries will continue to promote people-to-people links and progress our shared priorities on mobility of labour to encourage the flow of talent and ideas.”
- Trade and Investment: “By formalising the UK-Sweden Business Forum, inaugurated in 2022, and senior officials trade dialogues, the United Kingdom and Sweden wish to further deepen the bilateral trade and business relations.”
Each section provides additional details on cooperation and explicitly identifies the specific Government departments responsible for coordination. The strategic partnership with the UK is a political declaration of intent in line with Sweden’s obligations under EU law.