A Warm Welcome to H.E. Klas Molin, Sweden’s New Ambassador to Australia and New Zealand

 Sweden’s new Ambassador to Australia and New Zealand, Klas Molin, has officially begun his tenure, having recently presented his credentials to H.E. the Honourable Sam Mostyn AC, Governor-General of Australia, and The Rt Hon Dame Cindy Kiro, Governor-General of Aotearoa New Zealand.

Ambassador Klas Molin presented his credentials to H.E. the Honourable Sam Mostyn AC, Governor-General of Australia on 18 September 2025 at Government House in Canberra. Photo: Office of the Governor-General of Australia

 

Ambassador Molin has extensive experience from the Asia-Pacific region, having been Ambassador to the Republic of India from 2017-2022 and to the Kingdom of Thailand from 2011-2015 while also accredited to several other countries in South and South-East Asia.

Between 2006-2011, Ambassador Molin was Head of the Department for Asia and the Pacific in Sweden’s Ministry for Foreign Affairs. Prior to his current posting, he was Director-General in the MFA for Administrative Affairs and Management. Earlier foreign postings include Bangkok, New York and Washington D.C.

On Wednesday 10 September 2025, Ambassador Klas Molin presented his credentials to H E The Rt Hon Dame Cindy Kiro, Governor-General of Aotearoa New Zealand. Photo: Government House Wellington

Ambassador Molin is especially proud to see Swedish companies contributing to Australia’s efforts to boost productivity, sustainability, and economic resilience. He looks forward to connecting with the Swedish and business community across Australia and New Zealand, and to working closely with them to deepen trade, investment, and cultural ties.

Klas Molin hails from Stockholm, Sweden and has a partner and three sons and a grandson, with whom he greatly enjoys sports and the outdoors.

Australian-Based Honorary Consuls attended royal reception in Stockholm

At the end of May 2025, four Australia-based Honorary Consuls visited Stockholm to participate in the Honorary Consul Conference, hosted by the Swedish Ministry for Foreign Affairs.

As part of the official program, the Consuls were honoured at a distinguished royal reception at the Royal Palace, hosted by His Majesty King Carl XVI Gustaf and Her Royal Highness Crown Princess Victoria. The event brought together Swedish Honorary Consuls from across Asia and Oceania, underscoring their vital role in advancing Sweden’s global engagement.

Representing Australia at the conference were:

  • James Letherbarrow (Sydney)
  • Benjamin Sandquist (Melbourne)
  • Kevin Stephens (Darwin)
  • Lisa Jahrsten (Perth)

However, they weren’t the only ones with ties to Australia in such high-level event. Also in attendance were Ambassador-Designate to Australia Klas Molin and Carina Engman, Head of Administration at the Embassy of Sweden in Canberra, further underscoring the strong diplomatic ties between the Sweden and Australia.

During the ceremony, HM The King and HRH Crown Princess awarded the Royal Order of the Polar Star to ten Honorary Consuls, including all four Australia-based representatives in attendance.

Honorary Consuls are vital links for Sweden internationally. Their work spans trade promotion, cultural exchange, and support for Swedish citizens abroad.

In his address, King Carl Gustaf praised the Consuls’ dedication, emphasising their contribution to Sweden’s international reputation and in fostering meaningful business and cultural ties between Sweden and the Asia-Pacific region.

Introduction of Nils Hedberg Grimlund, Deputy Head of Mission, Embassy of Sweden Canberra

 

Dear all,

I arrived at the Swedish Embassy in Canberra in August as the new Head of Mission. One of our main tasks is to keep close contact with the Swedish business community, and to offer various kind of support and do promotion activities together with our Team Sweden partners: the SACC and Business Sweden.

For me, this is great. I spent the first ten years of my career in the private sector, and as a diplomat, I have worked with trade policy (in Stockholm) and business promotion (in Brazil and Poland). Mining has been a common theme in many of these past capacities, and here in Australia, I strongly look forward to engaging with this industry with all its rapid changes and enormous impact from leading Swedish companies. Australia’s green transition is another focus area for the Embassy (and me personally), where Swedish companies have much to offer.

But the Swedish impact is much broader and as a newcomer, I’m eager to learn about the local market, the business climate and how we can engage. Feel free to reach out (contacts below) if you need help from the Embassy, if there is a promotion activity we could do jointly, or if you are passing by Canberra and would have time for coffee.

Nils Hedberg Grimlund

Nils.hedberg.grimlund@gov.se

+61 417 841 367

Swedish-Australian Sustainable Mining Summit in Perth

20 May 2024 – Swedish-Australian Sustainable Mining Summit in Perth organised by Business Sweden’s Sydney office and the Embassy of Sweden in Canberra. The SACC were invited and Michael Dahlgren, Vice President of SACC took part together with SACC Perth WA Chapter Chair Joseph Olsson from Sandvik. 

The Summit explored how Sweden and Australia are shaping the future of the mining industry and the value of collaboration around sustainable, smart, automated and electric mines.

In his welcome remarks, Ambassador Pontus Melander pointed out that the path to green mining comes through collaboration and that sustainable mining practices are a must in the green transition towards net zero.

The Ambassador was followed by Minister for Mines and Petroleum; Ports and Road Safety; Hon David Michael. He acknowledged the long mining and trade history of both Sweden and Australia. Both countries share a net-zero goal and highlighted the importance of collaboration between democratic like-minded countries.

The meeting continued having a keynote from Sandvik, discussing Digital transformation in Mining, followed by a panel discussion on Smart Mines, Brighter Future: Navigating the shift towards automated and electrified mining. Participating in this panel discussion were senior employees with Sandvik, Epiroc, Rio Tinto, ABB and Goldfields. There were also a couple of start-up pitches, case studies and a final panel discussion on decarbonizing the critical minerals industry and balancing mining strategy for growth and sustainability. In this panel, there were senior people from Fortescue, Pilbara Minerals, Mineral Resources, Idoba and 3ME Technology.

The meeting closed with an exciting presentation from Talga Group (TLG), an ASX listed group that is working on the development of sustainable battery materials, including natural graphite sourced from a mine site in Vittangi (TF’s home village!), which is situated in between Pajala and Kiruna in the north of Sweden. The mine site has Europe’s largest and highest grade natural graphite deposit and the prospects seemed enormous if all goes their way. The meeting concluded with networking drinks. Event sponsors included: Platinum sponsor Sandvik, Gold sponsors Epiroc, ABB and Volvo Group and Bronze sponsor Scania Group. Other collaboration partners were Austmine, CRC TiME & International Mining.

Sweden and Abba took centerstage at Eurovision pre-event in Canberra

On May 2 the Embassy of Sweden in Canberra hosted a pre-event at the Hyatt Hotel to highlight the Eurovision Song Contest in Malmö, Sweden, later that in May. The gathering attracted about 350 guests from the Australian administration, the private sector, the diplomatic corps, and other Australian Eurovision enthusiasts.

Highlighting the evening was a spirited performance by opera singer Jade McFaul, who charmed attendees with Eurovision classics performed in an operatic style. Videos of this year’s finalists were also shown.

In his opening remarks, the Embassy’s Deputy Head of Mission Mr. Per Linnér underlined that Eurovision serves as a celebration of the core values Europe embodies – the freedom of artistic expression, gender equality and cultural diversity. Originating as a peace initiative, its aim was to unite nations and individuals through the universal languages of music and culture.

The event provided an excellent opportunity to strengthen the image of Sweden in Canberra and to raise awareness about Sweden as a major music export country. This year marks 50 years since the pop band ABBA won the Eurovision Song Contest in Brighton in 1974 with the iconic song “Waterloo”. Abba and Eurovision are both strong brands in Australia.

The success of the event was made possible through collaboration with the Embassies/High Commissions of Cyprus, Czechia, European Union in Australia, Finland, Germany, Israel, Malta, Norway and ESCFAN OGAE Australia.

Sweden and Australia Charting the Future of Sustainable Mining – IMARC, Sydney 31 October

Sweden at the International Mining and Resources Conference (IMARC) in Sydney.

H.E Pontus Melander welcomed participants to the Sweden session “Sweden and Australia charting the future of sustainable mining”, presented by the Embassy of Sweden and Business Sweden at the International Mining and Resources Conference (IMARC) in Sydney.

Following on from the successful visit by H.R.H Crown Princess Victoria and Minister for Foreign Trade, Johan Forssell to Australia in February 2023, the Sweden session provided a renewed focus of the Sweden – Australia collaborations within the mining industry.

The session presented discussions centered around sustainable mining, including digitalization, automation and electrification and Ambassador Melander noted that “the mining sector is a provider of solutions and Sweden wants to collaborate with countries like Australia”.

A keynote delivered by Dr Adam Best, CSIRO emphasized the importance of sustainable mining, new technologies and the importance of the future of mining to support the green transition.

Swedish company representatives, Max Ludke, Vice President and Business Line Manager Mining, ABB, Hans Wahlquist, Global Director Product Management, Epiroc, Wayne Scrivens, Vice President AU & NZ, Sandvik and Simon Stone, Vice President, Hexagon participated in a panel discussion, moderated by Peter Ker, Senior Editor, Australian Financial Review on the strength of the Swedish innovation ecosystem and the growing partnerships between Sweden and Australia.

On the question – “Why are Sweden and Australia compatible” the panelists agreed that Sweden punches above its weight in innovation and Australia is forward leaning in technology and eager to take on new ideas.  “Our countries are geographically far apart but culturally we are close and geo-politically like-minded”.

During IMARC the Embassy also took the opportunity to meet with exhibiting Swedish companies Epiroc, Sandvik, ABB, Hexagon, Axis Communications and SKF. We can confidently say that the Swedish companies present at IMARC 2023 were promoting Sweden’s solutions in mining, emphasizing the focus on sustainability and showcasing the strong innovation ecosystem.

The Swedish Australian Chamber of Commerce invited participating Swedish company representatives and Australian stakeholders to a pre-IMARC event at the office of Business Sweden as a kick-off to the IMARC Sweden Session on 30 October. At this pre-IMARC event, we heard from industry experts from the mining ecosystem, Professor David Saiang at Luleå University of Technology and Andrew Dawson at Sandvik Mining and Rock Solutions, who gave us insight into sustainable mining practices, innovative technologies, AI to support green transition and future development.

 

The Embassy of Sweden caught football fever in Australia and New Zealand

The Embassy of Sweden started to engage with Football Australia at an early stage to explore possibilities to increase visibility for women’s football and the FIFA Women’s World Cup in Australia and New Zealand.

During their visit to Australia in February the Their Royal Highnesses Crown Princess Victoria and Prince Daniel met with the Matilda’s Head coach Tony Gustavsson and players in his team. In fact, eleven of the players in Australia’s national squad play for clubs in the Swedish top division Damallsvenskan – a showcase of the strong people-to-people relationships existing between Sweden and Australia.

Once the tournament was underway the Embassy attended several games including the bronze medal match between Sweden and Australia. The matches were not only an opportunity to cheer for our Swedish team and to connect with fans but also to meet Australian and New Zealand officials. Prime Minister Anthony Albanese and the leader of the Opposition Peter Dutton were both present for the final game in Brisbane.

Together with the Embassy of Italy the Embassy organized a pub screening of the Sweden-Italy game. In conjunction with the tournament the Embassy also participated in a gender equality symposium in Brisbane as well as an event on football and diplomacy organized by Football Australia and the New Zealand High Commission in Canberra.

The Embassy thanks and congratulates the hosts Australia and New Zealand for organizing an extraordinary World Cup and for lifting women’s football to new hights. We congratulate the Swedish and Australian teams for amazing performances and thank the Swedish Football Federation, the Sweden-Australia Chamber of Commerce, our Swedish honorary consulates and all the individual enthusiasts that contributed to making the World Cup a big party for Swedish fans.

Per Linnér

National Day celebrations 6 June at the Swedish Church in Melbourne – Celebrating Sweden 500 years

What’s in a number?

Well, plenty as Sweden celebrates 500 years on the 6th of June, making 2023 a jubilee year.

 

At the heart of it is Sweden’s transition into a national state as Gustav Vasa was elected King of Sweden on the 6 June 1523 in the small town of Strängnäs. Shortly after that Sweden left the so-called Kalmar Union with Denmark and Norway and became independent again.

On the 6th of June 2023, in Melbourne at Toorak House, on an unusually warm winter’s day (almost like a northern summer’s day in Sweden).  Ambassador Pontus Melander invited the Swedish community, Swedish companies, Swedish Church and friends of Sweden in Melbourne to an evening to celebrate the Swedish National Day and Sweden 500 years.

Starting with formalities, as one should on a National Day, toasts for Sweden and Australia were followed by the Swedish National Anthem and the Australian National Anthem, both sung a capella by talented singer Suzann Frisk.

Ambassador Melander opened his speech with an acknowledgement of country by paying his respect to the traditional owners of the Kulin land and welcoming everyone to the celebrations. He also thanked Katja Lin and the Swedish Church for the opportunity to host the National Day in the beautiful Toorak House.

“Depending on one’s perspective, 500 years of human history can be a long period or a very short one. We are humbled by the fact that this continent has been continuously inhabited by Aboriginal and Torres Straits Islander people for over 60 000 years” the Ambassador said, then continued: “Sweden has changed over 500 years and today we take pride that Sweden, just like Australia, is a modern society where people can pursue their dreams and exercise their freedom of expression, regardless of gender, ethnicity and sexual orientation.”

Sweden’s excellent political and diplomatic relations with Australian were confirmed with the recent visit in February from the Crown Princess of Sweden, HRH Crown Princess Victoria, HRH Prince Daniel and the Minister of Trade, Johan Forssell.

The visit highlighted our shared values and interest and showcased the strong relationship between Swedish companies and relevant Australian partners. Many Swedish companies are well established in Australia, creating jobs and furthering the economic development, innovation and sustainability focus and many of them located in Melbourne.

We were delighted to have company representatives from Ericsson, ABB, Scania, Tetra Pak, Axis, Astra Zeneca, IKEA, Sinch, SAAB, Polestar, Husqvarna, Alfa Laval and many entrepreneurs celebrating Sweden together with us.

The evening was truly a success with many from the Swedish community and organisations in Melbourne coming out for the National Day celebration, for the first time properly since the pandemic. It is safe to say that the quiz about Sweden was the most popular thing of the evening, with almost all guests testing their knowledge of Sweden. 15 happy winners were selected and were given a goody bag from the Ambassador with information books about Sweden and chocolate from Mörk Chocolate.

Look out for more celebrations later in the year as this year we also celebrate His Majesty the Kings’ golden jubilee. It marks the 50th anniversary of his accession to the throne, His Majesty is currently the third longest serving head of state in the world.

Thank you, Melbourne, we are happy you all joined us in celebrating Sweden 500!

Embassy of Sweden in Canberra

Introducing the new Ambassador of Sweden to Australia

HE Mr. Pontus Melander is since October 10, 2022, Ambassador of Sweden to Australia.

Before coming to Australia, he served as Deputy Head of the Security Department at the Ministry for Foreign Affairs. Between 2017 and 2019, he served as Sweden’s Ambassador to Iraq.

Previously, he was Ambassador at large at the Ministry for Foreign Affairs and Ambassador at Swedish Armed Forces between 2008 and 2010.

Over the years, Mr. Melander has held various positions abroad, including at the Embassy of Sweden to Canada, the Embassy of Sweden to the United States and the Permanent Representation of Sweden to the European Union in Brussels. At the Ministry for Foreign Affairs, he has held positions as Ambassador and Energy Coordinator and Ambassador and Chief Coordinator for Export Support to the Defense Industry. In addition, he has worked at the Office of the European Correspondent, Department for European Affairs and the Trade Department.

Mr. Melander received his Master of Science in Politics, Economy and International Law at the University of Lund 1989. He has also received higher management training in the Swedish Armed Forces and the Ministry for Foreign Affairs.

Mr. Melander is married and has four children.

Photo: Kristian Pohl

Sweden to hold the Presidency of the Council of the European Union 1 Jan – 30 June 2023

Presidency of the Council

The Presidency of the Council rotates between EU Member States every six months. During a six-month period, the Presidency will drive forward the Council’s work on EU legislation, ensure continuity of the EU agenda and ensure that legislative processes are carried out in an orderly manner and that Member States cooperate.

The two main tasks of the Presidency are to plan and chair the meetings of the Council and its preparatory bodies and to represent the Council in its relations with other EU institutions.

Sweden will hold the Presidency of the Council of the European Union from 1 January to 30 June 2023.

The four priorities of the Swedish Presidency

  • Security – unity
  • Resilience – competitiveness
  • Prosperity – green & energy transition
  • Democratic values and the rule of law – our foundation

The priorities of the Swedish Presidency reflect positions that Sweden has traditionally advocated in the EU, but also respond to the current geopolitical and economic challenges facing the Union.

More detailed information on the priorities is available on the official website of the Swedish Presidency

Other related links:

Sweden’s Presidency of the Council of the EU – Government.se

https://www.government.se/articles/2022/12/2023-swedish-presidency-in-focus-during-european-parliaments-stockholm-visit/