Why these countries?
The Swedish government has pointed out the BRIICS countries, among others, as a priority for bilateral cooperation. BRIICS stands for Brazil, Russia, India, Indonesia, China, and South Africa. These are countries with large economies and with regionally- or globally important environmental impact. (Due to Russias military aggression against Ukraine, cooperation with Russia is paused since February 24 2022).
We previously also cooperated with Viet Nam, where our long time good experience and contacts with the country’s authorities still remain. The U.S. is also an important strategic country for us to collaborate with on global marine environmental cooperation. Our collaboration with countries in the Western Indian Ocean is closely connected to our international development cooperation.