ISRAELI Foreign Minister Eli Cohen’s visit to Sweden marks a thaw in relations between Jerusalem and Stockholm after more than 2 decades of strained diplomatic ties.
Cohen is the first Israeli foreign minister to visit Sweden in 22 years.
The Israeli foreign minister met his Swedish counterpart Tobias Billström.
According to Cohen, Sweden’s attempt to join NATO could be an opportunity for Jerusalem and Stockholm to strengthen their economic relations and trade in the areas of defense, innovation, and financial technology.
Sweden is expected to increase its defense budget fivefold the moment it becomes an official NATO member.
Cohen said he hopes that Sweden’s role as the current President of the EU Council could change Europe’s approach towards the Iranian nuclear and terror threat.
Relations between Israel and Sweden took a nosedive after the Scandinavian country recognized Palestinian statehood in 2014.
The move made Sweden the first large European country to do so since the end of the Cold War and was met with widespread condemnation in Israel.
On 1 January 2023, Sweden took over the presidency of the Council of the European Union for 6 months.
Cohen’s visit came nearly two years after former Swedish Foreign Minister Ann Linde visited Israel in October 2021 which marked a new chapter in the two countries’ diplomatic relations fraught with years of turbulence.
