MOGADISHU/STOCKHOLM, (HAN) – A secret agreement between the governments of Sweden and Somalia has sparked a major dispute within Swedish institutions and between the two countries.
An investigation by Swedish Radio revealed that the controversy escalated after Somalia expelled Sweden’s top aid representative in Mogadishu.
According to the secret deal, Sweden agreed to provide financial aid to fund a project near the Somali prime minister’s office in exchange for Somalia’s acceptance of deported Somali nationals from Sweden.
Since then, deportations of Somalis from Sweden have increased, with police statistics showing that 28 people were forcibly returned to Somalia last year alone.
Sweden’s Minister for International Development Cooperation, Benjamin Dousa, said that Sida, Sweden’s aid agency, and the embassies are responsible for implementing aid projects. SIDA, in turn, stated that the Swedish government had decided the funding should be channeled through the UNDP and insisted that the project met normal requirements.
“If it is true that the Swedish government entered a secret agreement with Somalia, this is extremely serious and alarming,” said Anna Lasses, foreign policy spokesperson for the Center Party, in an interview with SVT.
Swedish Radio reported that attempts to obtain a comment from the Somali Prime Minister’s Office were unsuccessful.
