Somalia and Sweden

How do Somalia and Sweden relate today?

Sweden has no embassy in Somalia. Its Somalia Section sits in the Swedish embassy in Nairobi, travels to Somalia regularly and is led by Sweden's ambassador to Somalia (Embassy of Sweden, Somalia Section). The ambassador since autumn 2025 is Hans Henric Lundquist (Government of Sweden, 7 August 2025).

Aid is the core of the tie. Sweden gave Somalia SEK 392.3 million in 2025: SEK 243.4 million in development cooperation and SEK 148.9 million in humanitarian aid (Sida, Somalia page, April 2026). A new strategy for 2026 to 2028 lets Sida spend about SEK 200 million a year (Government of Sweden, strategy 2026–2028).

Migration now shapes the tie. The 2026 strategy adds a goal of countering irregular migration and helping more people return (Government of Sweden, strategy 2026–2028). From 23 June 2026 the EU restricted visas for Somali nationals over readmission, and Sweden's embassy published the rules (Embassy of Sweden in Nairobi, 8 July 2026).

When did contact begin?

Sweden recognised the Somali Republic at independence on 1 July 1960. Acting Foreign Minister Herman Kling sent a telegram of recognition to Prime Minister Abdullahi Issa (Wikipedia, List of ambassadors of Sweden to Somalia, citing Svenska Dagbladet, 2 July 1960). Sweden's envoy in Addis Ababa, Åke Sjölin, represented Sweden at the celebrations in Mogadishu (Wikipedia, citing Svenska Dagbladet).

Sweden's embassy says its engagement in Somalia has run since the early 1960s (Embassy of Sweden, Somalia Section). Sweden never had a resident ambassador in Mogadishu. Its ambassadors were based in Addis Ababa (1961 to 1964), Cairo (1964 to 1970 and 1980 to 1981), Dar es Salaam (1971 to 1979) and then Stockholm (Wikipedia, List of ambassadors).

After the Somali state collapsed in 1991, the post stayed empty from 1992 (Riksdag, interpellation 2012/13:146). In December 2012 the government told parliament it would soon seek approval for a new ambassador (Riksdag, 2012).

Who are the ambassadors and envoys?

Swedish ambassadors to Somalia:

• Åke Sjölin, 1961 to 1964, resident in Addis Ababa. He presented credentials in Mogadishu on 6 December 1961 (Wikipedia, List of ambassadors).
• Tord Hagen, 1967 to 1969, resident in Cairo (Wikipedia, List of ambassadors).
• Krister Göranson, ambassador during 1992 (Wikipedia, List of ambassadors).
• No accredited ambassador, 1992 to 2013 (Riksdag, 2012).
• Mikael Lindvall, April 2013 to July 2017, resident in Nairobi (Wikipedia, List of ambassadors).
• Andreas von Uexküll, from 1 September 2017 (Government of Sweden, 6 July 2017).
• Staffan Tillander, from 1 September 2019. He had served with the UN mission in Mogadishu, UNSOM (Government of Sweden, 25 July 2019).
• Per Lindgärde, from autumn 2021. He had been deputy special envoy for Somalia to the UN Secretary-General (Government of Sweden, 15 April 2021).
• Joachim Waern, from August 2023, after heading Sweden's office in Juba (Government of Sweden, 20 April 2023).
• Hans Henric Lundquist, from autumn 2025, previously ambassador in Addis Ababa and Khartoum (Government of Sweden, 7 August 2025). The embassy lists him as Ambassador to Somalia and Head of the Somalia Section (Embassy of Sweden, staff).

Somalia's ambassador in Stockholm covers Sweden and Norway. In 2026 this was Abdikarim Ahmed Mohamed, ambassador to Sweden and non-resident ambassador to Norway (SONNA, 16 February 2026).

Who built the tie?

• Herman Kling, acting foreign minister, recognised Somalia by telegram in July 1960 (Wikipedia, citing Svenska Dagbladet).
• Åke Sjölin, first Swedish envoy accredited to Mogadishu, from July 1961 (Wikipedia, List of ambassadors).
• Carina Hägg, Social Democratic MP, pressed the government in November 2012 to name an ambassador and use the diaspora in rebuilding (Riksdag, 2012).
• Gunilla Carlsson, Minister for International Development Cooperation, answered in December 2012 that an ambassador would follow and a strategy would be adopted in spring 2013 (Riksdag, 2012).
• Mikael Lindvall, first Swedish ambassador to Somalia in two decades, 2013 to 2017 (Wikipedia, List of ambassadors).
• Per Lindgärde, a former UN deputy envoy for Somalia, ambassador from 2021 (Government of Sweden, 15 April 2021).
• Hans Henric Lundquist, ambassador from 2025, heads the Somalia Section that runs the 2026 to 2028 strategy (Embassy of Sweden, staff).

What agreements have they signed?

Sweden's main instruments are its own aid strategies, not bilateral treaties:

• Spring 2013: first results strategy for Somalia, planned after the 2012 interpellation (Riksdag, 2012).
• 4 October 2018: strategy for 2018 to 2022, worth SEK 3,072 million: SEK 3,000 million for Sida and SEK 72 million for the Folke Bernadotte Academy. It was extended to 30 June 2025, with SEK 310 million for 2025 (Government of Sweden, UD2018/10786/AF).
• 13 April 2026: strategy for 2026 to 2028, about SEK 200 million a year (Government of Sweden, 13 April 2026).

How much do they trade?

Trade is small but growing. UN Comtrade records Swedish exports to Somalia and imports from Somalia:

• 2020: exports US$423,981; imports US$28,989 (UN Comtrade)
• 2023: exports US$1,671,982; imports US$66,446 (UN Comtrade)
• 2024: exports US$1,559,005; imports US$133,615 (UN Comtrade)

In 2024 the largest export groups were chemical products, textile articles, instruments and furniture (UN Comtrade, HS chapters, 2024). The 2026 strategy says the Swedish-Somali diaspora and trade open the way to ties beyond aid (Government of Sweden, strategy 2026–2028).

How much aid and money has gone in?

Sweden's bilateral aid disbursements to Somalia, in current US dollars, were (OECD DAC2A):

• US$25.9 million in 2010 and US$63.5 million in 2011
• US$82.8 million in 2014
• US$107.1 million in 2018
• US$109.8 million in 2021, the highest in the series
• US$73.8 million in 2023 and US$65.9 million in 2024

In 2025 Sida's main partners included the UN Somalia Joint Fund, whose steering committee Sweden chairs (Sida, April 2026). Others were the World Bank for public finance and tax, Mercy Corps for livestock, Save the Children for reproductive health, FAO for irrigation and the BRCiS resilience consortium (Sida, April 2026). Sweden earlier funded media work through International Media Support, Fojo and BBC Media Action (Sida, April 2026).

The 2026 to 2028 strategy has six goals (Government of Sweden, strategy 2026–2028):

• stronger institutions for state-building, democracy and the rule of law
• respect for human rights
• resilience to crises, disasters and climate change
• capacity to counter irregular migration, and more returns and reintegration
• sexual and reproductive health and rights
• jobs, business, trade and education

What about security?

In 2012 Sweden supported the EU training mission for Somali soldiers, the EU naval operation Atalanta, the EUCAP Nestor mission and the AU force AMISOM (Riksdag, 2012). The Folke Bernadotte Academy, Sweden's agency for peace and security, received SEK 72 million under the 2018 to 2022 strategy (Government of Sweden). For foreign military roles, see Foreign forces in Somalia.

How does Sweden deal with Somaliland and the member states?

Sweden's strategies and embassy pages cover Somalia as one country and do not set out a separate Somaliland programme (Government of Sweden, strategy 2026–2028). No Swedish office in Hargeisa or a member state capital appears in the embassy's description of its Somalia work (Embassy of Sweden, Somalia Section).

Have there been disputes?

The main friction is over returns. The EU found Somalia's cooperation on taking back nationals staying irregularly in the EU insufficient (Embassy of Sweden in Nairobi, 8 July 2026). From 23 June 2026 Somali applicants face 45-day processing, full documents, single-entry visas only and fees on diplomatic passports (Embassy of Sweden in Nairobi, 8 July 2026).

How many Somalis live in Sweden?

At the start of 2025, 65,960 people born in Somalia lived in Sweden (Statistics Sweden). See Sweden (Somali diaspora).

Where does Sweden stand in the UN and other bodies on Somalia?

Sweden chairs the steering committee of the UN Somalia Joint Fund (Sida, April 2026). As an EU member it takes part in the EU's Somalia missions, and EU rule-of-law mission staff sit in its Nairobi embassy (Embassy of Sweden in Nairobi, about us).

Related pages

• Sweden (Somali diaspora)
• Somalia and Norway
• Foreign forces in Somalia
• International bodies in Somalia

Sources

1. Embassy of Sweden in Nairobi. "Somaliasektionen." Updated 5 April 2023. swedenabroad.se. Checked 2026-11-12.
2. Embassy of Sweden in Nairobi. "Embassy staff." swedenabroad.se. Checked 2026-11-12.
3. Embassy of Sweden in Nairobi. "About us." swedenabroad.se. Checked 2026-11-12.
4. Embassy of Sweden in Nairobi. "The Council of the European Union restricts visa provision for Somali nationals." 8 July 2026. swedenabroad.se. Checked 2026-11-12.
5. Sida. "Somalia." Updated 27 April 2026. sida.se. Checked 2026-11-12.
6. Government of Sweden. "Strategi för Sveriges utvecklingssamarbete med Somalia 2026–2028." 13 April 2026. regeringen.se and PDF. Checked 2026-11-12.
7. Government of Sweden. "Strategi för Sveriges utvecklingssamarbete med Somalia 2018–2022." 4 October 2018. regeringen.se. Checked 2026-11-12.
8. Government of Sweden. "Ny ambassadör i Somalia." 6 July 2017; 25 July 2019; 15 April 2021; 20 April 2023; 7 August 2025. 2017, 2019, 2021, 2023, 2025. Checked 2026-11-12.
9. Sveriges riksdag. Interpellation 2012/13:146, "Situationen i Somalia," Carina Hägg, answered 18 December 2012. riksdagen.se. Checked 2026-11-12.
10. Wikipedia. "List of ambassadors of Sweden to Somalia" (used for pre-1992 envoys, citing Svenska Dagbladet archives). en.wikipedia.org. Checked 2026-11-12.
11. SONNA. Somalia's ambassador to Sweden presents credentials in Norway. 16 February 2026. sonna.so. Checked 2026-11-12.
12. OECD. DAC2A, ODA disbursements to Somalia by donor, current prices. sdmx.oecd.org. Checked 2026-11-12.
13. UN Comtrade. Sweden–Somalia trade, 2020 to 2024. comtradeapi.un.org. Checked 2026-11-12.
14. Statistics Sweden. Population by country of birth, 2025. scb.se.