In First Since 2001, Israeli FM Meets Swedish Counterpart

Foreign Minister Eli Cohen met on Monday with his Swedish counterpart Tobias Billström in Stockholm, the first such visit by Israel’s top diplomat in 22 years.

According to the minister’s statement, the meeting focused on the noticeable positive change in Sweden’s approach toward Israel.

“We are opening a new page in relations between Sweden and Israel after years in which Sweden had a critical posture toward Israel,” said Cohen. “The visit in Stockholm, the first for an Israeli foreign minister since 2001, signals a change in the direction of ties between the countries.”

A number of Swedish political parties have called for moving the country’s embassy to Yerushalayim, and its parliament unanimously passed a measure urging the government to brand the Iranian Revolutionary Guard Corps a terrorist organization.

Sweden holds the EU presidency and is actively working to join NATO. Israel sees an opportunity for its defense technology to play a key role in Sweden’s military buildup in the wake of Russia’s invasion of Ukraine.