ROME – Sweden’s exports to Saudi Arabia are likely to climb further on the back of Riyadh’s increased oil revenue, Economist and Senior Fellow at the Euro-Gulf Information Centre (EGIC) Keith Boyfield said Wednesday at a hybrid roundtable discussion about Saudi-Sweden trade relations.

 The oil prices surge leaves room for the growth of non-oil activities in the GCC country, notably in construction, hospitality, retail, transport, and storage. For Boyfield, this creates a favourable environment for trade with Sweden, which is well positioned to offer a range of expertise and accumulated experience in these sectors.

 Saudia Arabia is Sweden's largest trading partner in the Middle East. In the last five years, the total volume of trade has amounted to 6 billion dollars. In 2021, the top 10 categories of Swedish goods exported to Riyadh exceeded 1.1 billion dollars, being iron ore, pharmaceutical products, and timber on top of the list.

 “Iron ore, timber, and other raw materials will continue to form a significant entailment in Sweden's trading relationship with Saudi Arabia, but taking a long-term view, the opportunities for enhanced trade are on digital transformation. The new high-tech smart city being constructed at Neom is one attractive opportunity in this context,” he said.

 The futuristic Neom, which will be located northwest Saudi Arabia by the Red Sea, is part of Riyadh’s 2030 Vision to diversify the economy away from petroleum. It is expected to unlock business opportunities and attract global investment under a budget of 500 billion dollars.

 Stronger political, economic, and cultural ties between the two countries are also promising as Sweden’s on the verge of assuming the Presidency of the Council of the EU.

 The future of this partnership, however, highly depends on whether the Scandinavian country, known as a vanguard for human rights and the protection of fundamental freedoms, will take a stand on the continuous accusations of human rights violations in Saudi Arabia.

 Riyadh is open to enhancing trade relations with Stockholm as long as the EU country avoids imposing its values and political agenda on the Kingdom, said Mohammed Al-Suwayied, public advisor between Dubai and Boston.

 Saudi Arabia is very sensitive to international campaigns targeting its internal affairs, which are perceived as attempts to undermine its leadership. This is something Sweden should consider if they intend to strengthen ties with the Saudis, Al-Suwayied added.

 For International Affairs Scholar Anna Viden, this is one of the many instances where tensions between interests and values can be observed.

 “Sweden and other European countries, at some level, need to have a much more honest discussion with themselves about human rights. Sweden sells a lot of arms and has a pretty important defence industry, and at the same time pride themselves of being a big nation and a super power in human rights. That doesn't necessarily have to be a contradiction, but as it stands now, it's very much contradicting,” she said.

 The only way trade can survive is by inviting groups that are seldom as part of the conversation, Binette Seck, concept leader of ChangersTech, stated. “When you speak of equality or gender equality, what you are talking about is sustainability.”

 Human rights defenders accuse Saudi Arabia of still limiting women’s access to political and economic opportunities. In 2018, former Canadian Foreign Minister Chrystia Freeland made a statement on social media demanding the “immediate release” of imprisoned rights activists, which resulted in severe diplomatic tensions between Ottawa and Riyadh.

 New Foreign Minister Tobias Billstrom declared Oct.18 that “gender equality is a core value for Sweden and this government, but we will not conduct a feminist foreign policy,” which indicates Stockholm is likely to refrain from jeopardizing relations with the GCC country.

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