At a press conference on Friday, the government and the Sweden Democrats announced that they are stopping aid to five countries where they claim to have not seen enough benefit from the Swedish taxpayers’ money.

The five countries that will no longer receive Swedish aid from August 31 next year are Tanzania, Mozambique, Zimbabwe, Liberia, and Bolivia – at the same time, the embassies in the latter three countries will be closed.

“To be honest, there are several countries where we feel that we have not seen enough benefit from the aid. For example, Zimbabwe and Tanzania are some of the world’s most socialist countries, where we have poured in tens of billions of kronor,” says Minister for International Development Cooperation Benjamin Dousa (M) to Aftonbladet.

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“The countries are free to pursue their policies, but it is we in Sweden who decide whether we want to support it or not. Here we have several examples of countries that, despite many billions from the Swedish people, are about as poor today as they were 10, 20, or 30 years ago. These are countries that have been influenced by socialism for many decades and as a result have not developed. Then one cannot expect the Swedish people to support year after year.”

According to Dousa, a dependency on aid has been built up in several of the countries in question in a way that does not benefit the population. He describes the restructuring as the biggest change ever and notes that Swedish aid has been too diffuse for too long.

Focus on Ukraine

Previously, the Tidö government reduced the total aid budget from 56 to 53 billion kronor for next year. At the same time, aid to Ukraine is expected to be at least ten billion in 2026. According to Dousa, priorities must be made.

“We have repeatedly explained that Ukraine is Sweden’s most important foreign policy priority. When others fail, Sweden will continue to support the Ukrainian population in their struggle for freedom, which is why we are making this commitment. Sweden will stand by Ukraine for as long as necessary,” write the Tidö parties in a joint op-ed.

The Social Democrats, the Green Party, and the Centre Party are critical of the government’s decision.

Last year, Tanzania received 516.5 million kronor, Mozambique 795.9 million, Zimbabwe 336.5 million, Liberia 336.6 million, and Bolivia: 163.1 million.

Press conference:

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