Liberia: Swedish Foreign Trade Minister Calls for Improved Business Climate in Liberia
... "We are ready to take on the risk of investing in Liberia, and in order to make that happen, we want the government to improve its business climate. So, that is our message here," Forssell said.
The Swedish Minister for International Development Cooperation and Foreign Trade, Johan Forssell, has stressed the need for the government of Liberia to further improve its business climate for entrepreneurs and investors in the country.
"We are ready to take on the risk of investing in Liberia, and in order to make that happen, we want the government to improve its business climate. So, that is our message here," Forssell said.
According to him, his mission was to further help more countries around the world, like Liberia, take on the same journey as Sweden in terms of a favorable business environment.
Forssell claimed that his visit to Liberia recently was to discuss trade, aid, and support for sexual and reproductive health. "I wanted to come here because we have a close relationship with Liberia and we see many opportunities here, a large young population and a country that is rich in natural resources. But we also see many challenges, such as lack of infrastructure, transparency, and accountability," he added.
Forssell stressed that the bilateral relationship with Liberia is strong, and highlighted Sweden’s appreciation for the Liberian government’s strong condemnation of Russia’s military full-scale invasion of Ukraine.
The Swedish Minister for International Development Cooperation and Foreign Trade also disclosed that his country offers an extremely competitive, open economy with access to new products, technologies, skills, and innovations.
"So, we are in a very healthy time, but still, I want to come here because Liberia is one of the countries that we've been working with the most in the last couple of years and received a lot of opportunities, including jobs, population, and a country rich with a lot of resources."
"I see a lot of challenges regarding transparency and corruption, but we are here to say that we are together to really foster a very business-friendly environment," Forssell.
He noted that there is a great deal of potential for Liberia and the whole regional support system to attract more investment, but that is also crucial for empowering Liberian small business enterprises. But in order to make that happen, Forssell said, "we really need to come together to take on the journey of trade and business environments where few people will start a business of their own."
According to him, Sweden has been a long-standing partner of Liberia for many years. Forssell said Sweden has extensive development cooperation with Liberia and contributes 1,85 billion SEK over five years to the country’s development.