Officials of the Federal Government of Somalia gave an official farewell to the outgoing Ambassador of the Kingdom of Sweden, Ambassador Mikael Lindvall, thanking him for the re-establishment of the diplomatic relations between our two countries and for substantially increasing Sweden’s development aid during his service.
Sweden ranks 3rd in the bilateral aid to Somalia and is the 2nd country contributing to Somalia’s multilateral development funding institutions.
Ambassador Mikael Lindvall hoisted the Swedish flag in the Somali capital and choose Mogadishu as his base, spending much of his efforts to the development of Somalia. Likewise, he helped ensure the implementation of the Somali Roadmap and Somali women’s parliamentary quotas.
During the farewell ceremony, President of the Federal Republic of Somalia, H.E. Mohamed Abdullahi “Farmajo”, thanked Ambassador Mikael Lindvall for his valuable contribution to the progress and stability of Somalia. President Farmajo also said that Ambassador Lindvall was a friend of Somalia during the difficult times of the Transition period and wished him good luck in his new endeavor.
The Somali Government appreciate and acknowledges the significant support extended by Sweden to the development of Somalia and its continous support to the Somali people and thanks Ambassador Mikael Lindvall for relentless effort to establish strong ties between the two nations.
The remarkable contributions made under the leadership of Ambassador Mikael Lindvall span from infrastructure support to humanitarian intervention. He will be remembered as a champion of inclusive politics, human right activist, justice reformer, employment and livelihood supporter. With Ambassador Mikael Lindvall support to Somalia has grown by 53% from paltry USD 41 million to 87million a year
At the end, Ambassador Mikael Lindvall declared that the Swedish Government shall donate US$ 8.5 million for the Mother and Child Care programs that shall be implemented by the Somali Ministry of Health and UNFPA. Finally, President Farmajo wished Ambassador Lindvall well and great success in his new responsibilities.