Swedish frustration with Saudis over speech may jeopardise arms agreement

By The Guardian

 

Foreign minister Margot Wallström says Saudi Arabia prevented her talking to the Arab League, as Swedish parties debate whether to renew military memorándum.

 

The tension between Sweden’s feminist face and its desire to maintain lucrative weapons contracts with Saudi Arabia broke into the open on Monday, when the Swedish foreign minister accused Riyadh of blocking her speech on human rights at the Arab League.

 

Margot Wallström had been invited as guest of honour to the Arab ministers’ meeting in Cairo after Sweden’s Social Democrats won general elections in September and announced they would become the first European Union member state to recognise Palestine.

 

But Saudi Arabia had “reacted strongly” to her government’s position on democracy and human rights, Wallström told reporters in Cairo on Monday, and blocked her speech in which she was due to “celebrate women’s achievements” and focus on women’s rights and representation.

 

“The explanation we have been given is that Sweden has highlighted the situation for democracy and human rights, and that is why they do not want me to speak,” she told the TT news agency in Cairo. “It’s a shame that a country has blocked my participation.”

 

Wallström has previously spoken out against the “medieval” punishment of the Saudi blogger Raef Badawi, who was sentenced to 1,000 lashes and a decade in prison for insulting Islam.

 

She has also championed a feminist foreign policy, which she says should include the strengthening of women’s rights, increasing women’s participation in decision-making, and a gender perspective on how resources are allocated.

 

The snub by Saudi Arabia comes at an awkward time for Sweden’s left-leaning coalition, which is divided over whether to renew a memorandum of understanding on military cooperation with the Saudi dictatorship. The memorandum, signed in 2005, comes up for renewal every five years, with the next renewal date due in May.

 

On Friday, more than 30 of Sweden’s business elite, including Jacob Wallenberg of Investor, Annika Falkengren of SEB bank, and Stefan Persson of the clothing multinational H&M, signed an open letter calling for the memorandum to be continued. “Sweden’s reputation as a partner in trade and cooperation is at stake,” they wrote.