Sweden Reverses Human Rights Stand to Restore Saudi Ties

Elliot Friedland

---

Sweden’s King and Prime Minister sent conciliatory letters to Saudi Arabia’s King Salman after Sweden criticized Saudi Arabia’s human rights.

Saudi Arabia has restored its ambassador to Sweden after a diplomatic spat sparked by Swedish criticism of Saudi human rights abuses.

Sweden’s Foreign Minister, Margot Wallstrom, had called the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia a “dictatorship” and said that the kingdom’s flogging of Raif Badawi was ‘medieval.’ She also strongly criticized Saudi Arabia’s record on women’s rights.

Saudi Arabia is the only country in the world where women are not allowed to drive. All women and girls are also required to have a male guardian under Saudi law. In most cases, women in the kingdom are forbidden from travelling, doing business, marrying, divorcing, opening a bank account – even undergoing certain medical procedures – without the permission of their male guardian.

Sweden cancelled a lucrative arms export contract with Saudi Arabia shortly afterwards, as Wallstrom was blocked from speaking at the Organization of Islamic Countries (OIC) in response to her comments. The cancellation of the arms deal prompted the withdrawal of Saudi Arabia’s ambassador, the denial of business visas in Saudi Arabia to Swedish citizens, and shortly afterwards, the withdrawal of the United Arab Emirates’ ambassador to Sweden.

Swedish firms do at least $1.4b in business in Saudi Arabia annually. Following the recall of the ambassador, Sweden’s Trade Minister Mikael Damberg invited 50 industry leaders of key Swedish export firms to a conference to discuss Swedish trade in the Middle East. They expressed a strong desire to prioritize repairing the relationship with Saudi Arabia.

The meeting followed the publication in the Swedish press of a debate article written by 31 business leaders. It warned of the potential damage to Sweden’s exports that could be wrought by the foreign minister’s stance on Saudi human rights.

Sweden’s king and prime minister both apologized to Saudi Arabia, each sending a letter to King Salman stressing the importance of bilateral ties. The letters were carried by a former defense minister, Bjoern von Sydow, in the capacity of a personal envoy from King Carl Gustav to King Salman.

Prime Minister Stefan Lovfen expressed “deep sorrow and regret over the current crisis in the relations between the two countries” in his letter and praised King Salman’s role as custodian of the Two Mosques.

Special Envoy von Sydow told reporters that he had not apologized, saying “I said we were very sorry if there were feelings of misunderstanding about what was said from the Swedish side, and said that we want to have a dialogue”

Yet according to Saudi daily Al-Arabiya Sweden’s Prime Minister Stefan Lofven “apologized for any interpretations which may have caused offense to Saudi Arabia or Islam, adding that he hoped Riyadh would realize Stockholm’s genuine concern over relations.”

Although she stated that she did not personally apologize, Margot Wallstrom said “I’m very pleased that we can resume our normal diplomatic ties”, adding: “We can … welcome the Saudi ambassador back to Sweden (and) we can clear up the misunderstanding that we have insulted the religion of Islam.”

It is clear that Sweden has prioritized its business relationship with the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia over its support for human rights.

---

 

---