Swedish development cooperation to continue post LDC graduation

Hailing Bangladesh’s upcoming graduation from the group of Least Developed Countries (LDCs) solely as the success of the people of the country, Sweden’s Minister for International Development Cooperation Per Olsson Fridh nevertheless confirmed that his country has no plans to abandon the fight against extreme poverty here.

"Even after graduation, you know there would still be millions of people left fighting extreme poverty in pockets around the country," Olsson told a select group of journalists Friday, at the conclusion of a week-long visit during which he took the opportunity to visit different parts of the country and witness first-hand the field-level implementation of various projects supported by the Swedish government.

A substantial number of people are facing extreme poverty and the scenario will be the same even after graduation, he said, adding, “We will be there to partner with Bangladesh to close that gap.”

Olsson did say the nature of cooperation may change, since graduation is a significant event. In the future, it may focus more on fighting inequality, or for social changes. He is also keen on transforming the “energy mix” towards a move away from fossil fuels.

The Green Party politician, who was inducted into the full cabinet under Prime Minister Stefan Lofven earlier this year, made Bangladesh the first country he visited as a minister.

During the stay, he also held meetings with Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina, Foreign Minister Dr AK Abdul Momen, Finance Minister Mustafa Kamal and Environment Minister Md. Shahab Uddin, during the visit. He also met with civil society, youth, and national and international development partners to get their views on development, and the opportunities and challenges of the future.

While in Bangladesh, the Swedish minister also visited the Rohingya settlements in Cox’s Bazar and the Sundarbans area, to see first-hand the effects of climate change.

In his meetings with Bangladeshi ministers, Olsson held discussions on areas where Sweden and Bangladesh might cooperate more closely, including climate change adaptation and mitigation, social dialogue, and rights in the workplace.

He also raised topics of democracy, human rights and the rule of law as well as gender equality as areas where Sweden is ready to deepen engagement with Bangladesh.

“The Swedish-Bangladeshi partnership for the first 50 years is full of success stories. Today, we are ready to work with Bangladesh to tackle the many common challenges that we face for the future,” Olsson said. Indeed, Sweden was one of the very first countries to recognise Bangladesh in the aftermath of its bloody war of independence from Pakistan in 1971.

“The Swedish government has recently decided to continue development cooperation with Bangladesh for the next five years, the current strategy running up to the end of 2025. At the same time, we will work to support our expanding trade relations and people-to-people contacts, which have become pillars of our partnership in their own rights,” he said.

Olsson said that a stable market economy needs transparency and accountability, which is where a functioning democracy comes in. He is well aware of various studies in recent years, including by institute based in Sweden like International IDEA and the Varieties of Democracy Institute, or outside like Transparency International, that have reflected a democratic decline in Bangladesh.

He said it could be useful to tie the concept of rights and democracy to the possibility of greater investment by Swedish private sector actors in Bangladesh. “They prefer the predictability that comes with a stable democracy,” he said.

One of the places Olsson visited during his stay was the Rohingya refugee camps in Cox’s Bazar. He denounced the coup in Myanmar on February 1 and demanded that the civilian government be restored.

Though their repatriation has never looked close to reality, the coup most likely pushes it off the agenda altogether now, at least for the foreseeable future, said Olsson, bluntly agreeing with an assessment by SIDA, the Swedish government’s development cooperation agency, on its website: “There is currently no possibility for the Rohingya to safely return home.”