Swedish Foreign Ministry spokesman Gabriel Wernstedt said on Wednesday that Riyadh had decided to withdraw Ibrahim bin Saad Al-Ibrahim because of “Sweden’s criticism regarding human rights and democracy” in the ultra-conservative Kingdom.
A day earlier, Sweden’s Defense Minister told the state broadcaster SVT his country will end a defense agreement with Saudi Arabia after heavy domestic criticism and a diplomatic spat.
The framework memorandum provides for the supply of military systems and training and transfers of technology, but Defense Minister Peter Hultqvist (photo) said not much of that cooperation existed any more.
“The military cooperation is, in practice, non-existent,” he told SVT when asked why Sweden would end the military agreement.
The decision came after Saudi Arabia blocked a speech that Swedish Foreign Minister Margot Wallstrom was scheduled to hold on Monday at a meeting of the Arab League in Cairo.
The meeting later agreed a resolution denouncing remarks by Wallstrom to the Swedish Parliament, the Saudi Press Agency reported.
It was not immediately clear which remarks were being denounced, but Wallstrom has told Parliament that women's rights are violated in Saudi Arabia, has criticized the flogging of a Saudi blogger, and has called the country a dictatorship.
The defense accord netted 4.8 billion crowns ($561 million) for Swedish firms in 2011-2014. It was first signed in 2005 by a previous Social Democratic government and was renewed by a centre-right government in 2010.
It needs to be cancelled in May in order not to be extended for another five years.
The Green Party, junior partner in Swedish Social Democratic Prime Minister Stefan Lofven's minority government, had called for the accord to be scrapped.
Source: Reuters
