Sweden says it will close its embassy in Harare and end its bilateral development cooperation with Zimbabwe and four other countries by August 31, 2026.
The Nordic country plans to phase out aid to Zimbabwe, Tanzania, Mozambique, Liberia, and Bolivia.
In a statement on Friday, the Embassy of Sweden in Harare said the phase-out follows “a broader context involving many difficult deliberations” and is linked to Sweden’s changing security landscape and new development cooperation reforms.
The embassy said the Reform Agenda aims to “sharpen the focus of Sweden’s development cooperation and reduce the number of bilateral development cooperation strategies.”
It stressed that the decision is “not connected to any specific events or developments in Zimbabwe.”
“Since the Embassy’s primary mission is closely linked to Swedish development cooperation, the need for permanent diplomatic presence has been reduced. The decision therefore also entails that the Swedish Embassy in Harare will close.
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Zimbabwe remains an important partner for Sweden,” the embassy said.
It added: “Our historic relations are strong and marked by deep people-to-people ties. These ties create opportunities for continued collaboration between actors in Sweden and Zimbabwe, even if the form of these collaborations may change.”
Despite the closure, Sweden said it intends to maintain a positive relationship with Zimbabwe through trade, investment, and thematic cooperation. “Zimbabwe remains an important partner for Sweden. Our historic relations are strong and marked by strong people-to-people ties,” the embassy said.
Future links will focus on areas such as “sustainable mining, environment and climate, and democracy and human rights.” Support will also continue through contributions to multilateral organizations and through the EU.
Accordion a Reuters report, Minister for International Development Cooperation and Foreign Trade Benjamin Dousa said the country intends to ramp up support for Ukraine.
“Ukraine is Sweden’s most important foreign policy and aid policy priority, and therefore the government is going to increase aid to Ukraine to at least 10 billion crowns ($1.06 billion) in 2026,” Dousa said.
“There isn’t a secret printing press for banknotes for aid purposes, and the money has to come from somewhere.”