Swedish Prime Minister Stefan Löfven will make an official visit to Korea December 18-20 at the invitation of President Moon Jae-in.

President Moon will hold a summit with Prime Minister Löfven on Wednesday afternoon, December 18, and host an official dinner that evening. Arranged to coincide with the 60th anniversary of diplomatic ties between Korea and Sweden, Prime Minister Löfven’s visit to Korea will be his first since he took office in 2014. This is also the first visit to Korea by a Swedish prime minister in 15 years.   

During the summit, President Moon will discuss how to boost economic cooperation, including trade and investments between the two countries. In particular, the in-depth discussions will focus on ways to expand bilateral collaboration in such areas as innovation and startups; ICT and other fields of science and technology; bio-health; and new industries, including hydrogen energy. On top of this, the two leaders will also exchange ideas about gender equality, welfare and other topics related to building an inclusive society.

Sweden is Korea’s time-honored friend that sent medical support units during the Korean War and has been contributing to peace on the Korean Peninsula even after the armistice agreement as a member of the Neutral Nations Supervisory Commission.

President Moon is expected to praise Sweden’s extraordinary contributions thus far toward establishing peace on the Korean Peninsula and promoting the dialogue process. The President will ask for its continued support. 

The Swedish prime minister’s visit, coming as it does after President Moon’s state visit to the Scandinavian country in June, will likely expand the horizon of substantive bilateral cooperation. Strategic communication with Sweden, which has made constructive contributions to peace on the Korean Peninsula, is likely to be strengthened further still.