STOCKHOLM, Sweden – A secret migration agreement between Sweden and Somalia led to a prolonged conflict between Swedish authorities and with Somalia itself, according to an investigation by Swedish Radio News.
The dispute culminated when Somalia expelled Sweden’s head of aid in Mogadishu, after she was seen as obstructing promised funds, Somali sources told Swedish Radio News.
On 7 December 2023, Sweden’s ambassador to Somalia, Joachim Waern, sent an email to several officials at the Government Offices of Sweden with the subject line: “Uppgörelse klar” (“Agreement reached”).
According to Swedish Radio News, Waern wrote that he had struck a deal with Somalia’s prime minister: 100 million kronor from Sweden’s aid budget would be deposited into a newly created Somali-Italian fund. In return, Somalia would accept citizens Sweden wanted to deport — including convicted criminals who had refused to leave voluntarily.
The deal immediately set off tensions. When the email reached the Swedish International Development Cooperation Agency (Sida), staff strongly objected and refused to go along. One reason was the significant influence the Somali prime minister’s office would hold over the Somali-Italian fund.
“It’s basically the prime minister’s fund,” said Omar Mahmood, a Somalia analyst at Crisis Group. He told Swedish Radio News the case illustrates how the Somali government has been seeking more direct control over incoming aid resources.
Clash with Somalia
The disagreement put Sida officials on a collision course with the ambassador, and soon Sweden found itself at odds with Somalia as well. Somali officials, according to sources, insisted that the promised money be delivered into the fund.
In an effort to find a compromise, Sweden first transferred 40 million kronor to a World Bank fund. However, when it attempted to transfer the remaining $ 60 million, the World Bank refused, blocking the payment.
The delay triggered anger in Mogadishu. Somali officials responded by halting deportations from Sweden, stating that Stockholm had not fulfilled its end of the agreement.
Shortly afterward, Sweden’s head of aid in Mogadishu, Anna Saleem Högberg, was declared persona non grata and expelled from Somalia. Somali sources told Swedish Radio News she was perceived as standing in the way of the funds being transferred.
The standoff ended in May, when the Swedish government amended Sida’s appropriation directive, which governs the agency’s work. The remaining 60 million kronor was released, this time to projects carried out in cooperation with Somalia’s Prime Minister’s Office but implemented under the UN Development Programme (UNDP). Deportations from Sweden to Somalia then resumed.
Neither Waern nor Sida officials directly involved agreed to be interviewed. Sweden’s Minister for International Development Cooperation, Benjamin Dousa, stated in a written comment that Sida and Swedish embassies are responsible for implementing aid policy.
Swedish Radio News reported it was unable to obtain a comment from Somalia’s prime minister’s office.