Dar es Salaam — Sweden is fundamentally reshaping its relationship with Tanzania, transitioning from six decades of development cooperation to a partnership centred on trade, investment, and export finance, according to Swedish Ambassador to Tanzania Charlotta Ozaki Macias and Lena Bertilsson, Head of Large Corporates at Sweden’s Export Credit Agency (EKN).
The two officials, speaking in an interview on April 29, 2026, with The Chanzo’s Managing Editor, Tony Alfred K, described the shift as a natural “graduation” rather than an abandonment, even as Sweden phases out bilateral development cooperation by August 31, 2026.
“After 63 years, it’s also logical for us to graduate into a new kind of partnership,” Ambassador Ozaki Macias said, emphasising that Sweden will maintain a significant embassy presence and continue supporting Tanzania’s development agenda through multilateral channels, including the European Union, World Bank, International Monetary Fund, African Development Bank, and European Investment Bank.
For the past six years Sweden has remained top bilateral donor to Tanzania with over 800 billion that was received to the Tanzania treasury. The timing of the policy shift has raised questions in Tanzania, particularly given that Sweden announced the phase-out in December 2025, just weeks after the violent elections and internet shutdowns of October 29, 2025. However, Ambassador Ozaki Macias firmly denied any connection between the two events.
“It wasn’t linked to any political development in the country,” she stated. “The decision to phase out bilateral cooperation aid is 100 per cent a Swedish foreign policy decision based on a changing geographic and security geopolitical environment in Europe and in the world.”
She explained that the Swedish government decided three years ago to reduce development cooperation to focus on its own security in the region and on Ukraine. As a result, Sweden is closing three embassies worldwide, in Bolivia, Liberia, and Zimbabwe, and phasing out development cooperation in five countries, including Mozambique and Tanzania.
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“We are remaining here with our embassy, so it can look like it was a punishment,” she added. “But I would say, ‘No, we don’t work like that.’ We’re remaining here, and we continue to have a dialogue with our counterpart partners. That’s how we do diplomacy.”
SGR focus
Despite the policy shift, Sweden remains deeply engaged in Tanzania’s flagship Standard Gauge Railway project. The signing of financing agreements for Lots 3 and 4 of the SGR, valued at 1.3 billion dollars, represents a cornerstone of the new partnership model.
Lena Bertilsson, representing EKN, described the SGR as a long-term commitment that showcases Swedish technical expertise in railway and electrification. “Sweden has a very strong supply chain in railway and also in electrification. What we bring to Tanzania is the technical expertise that will obviously benefit the project a lot,” she said.
EKN, established in 1933, benefits from Sweden’s triple-A credit rating, allowing it to attract private capital that might not otherwise be available. Bertilsson explained that the agency’s involvement enables long-term financing solutions, with some loans extending repayment periods until 2045.
“When we come in and support a project like this with guarantees, we will be able to attract more private capital to financing like this, which wouldn’t maybe happen in the same magnitude if we hadn’t been involved,” she noted.
The SGR financing consortium brings together export credit agencies from multiple countries—Sweden, Poland, Italy, and Denmark—reflecting a growing trend of international cooperation on large infrastructure projects.
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Bertilsson emphasised that EKN is supporting similar projects across Africa, including solar energy projects in Angola and transmission projects throughout the continent.
Loan structure
On the broader question of fair financing for African development, Bertilsson acknowledged the challenge.
“The investments are huge, so I think you need a lot of different sources to put everything together,” she said, highlighting the importance of “blended financing” that combines development funds, pension funds, and public guarantees to attract diverse capital sources.
Ambassador Ozaki Macias added a historical perspective, noting that Sweden itself relied on borrowed capital to build its railway infrastructure during its industrial development.
“We didn’t have the funds,” she said. “It was a huge investment for us also, but it was crucial for the development of Sweden because our industry is built on forestry and mining. Without the railway, we would never have been able to transport our goods and become a trading nation.”
She underscored that export credit agencies like Sweden’s, along with those from Poland and Italy, are taking on the bulk of the risk in the SGR project, while commercial banks play a smaller role.
This structure, she argued, gives Tanzania access to the best possible loans available globally, with low interest rates and extended repayment periods.
Skills trade
When discussing obstacles to Swedish business expansion in Tanzania, Ambassador Ozaki Macias identified three key challenges: difficulty recruiting skilled workers, bureaucratic red tape and corruption, and issues with the Tanzania Revenue Authority (TRA).
Swedish companies, she noted, are investing heavily in recruiting and training engineering talent to address the skills gap. On creating a more conducive business climate, Ambassador Ozaki Macias emphasised the need for regulatory predictability, accountability systems, and transparency.
“A more conducive climate, a business climate, is necessary to attract more FDI,” she said. “That means a regulatory framework that is more predictable and a system of accountability and justice if things go wrong.”
Both officials highlighted education as fundamental to Tanzania’s development. Bertilsson pointed to Sweden’s model of free education, including university, as a driver of the country’s engineering excellence and entrepreneurship.
“Education and university are free,” she said. “I think that’s one of the reasons that has fostered a lot of engineering in Sweden. Sweden is known for its famous engineering and entrepreneurship in that field.”
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Ambassador Ozaki Macias acknowledged Tanzania’s unique geographic position as a gateway to landlocked neighbours and a hub for regional trade. She noted that the SGR’s success is already inspiring neighbouring countries like Uganda to pursue similar projects, creating opportunities for expanded Swedish involvement in the region.
October 29
On the October 29 events and Sweden’s response, Ambassador Ozaki Macias expressed shock and condolences to those affected. “We were all shocked, and I want to express my condolences to the lost lives and missing people. We were shocked because it had never happened here before,” she said.
Sweden responded through multiple channels, working with the European Union and like-minded countries, including Norway, Switzerland, the United Kingdom, and the United States.
Actions included dialogue with government representatives, media engagement, discussions with the World Bank about financing programmes, and advocacy for a trustworthy commission of inquiry at the Human Rights Council in Geneva.
“We have used all the bilateral tools to talk to the government here,” she stated. “We have used the international tools, the multilateral tools to support the healing of Tanzania.”
Regarding civil society organisations that Sweden has supported for decades—such as the Legal and Human Rights Centre (LHRC)—Ambassador Ozaki Macias acknowledged the challenges posed by the phase-out of development cooperation.
However, she expressed confidence that many partner organisations are “graduating” because they are well-established and known internationally.
“Other countries are also looking into the possibility of cooperating with them,” she said. “Of course, they will be feeling that our financial support, but also our other kind of support that we give, will affect them. But I rest assured that they can also find new sources of financing and other partners.”
Future vision
Looking forward, Ambassador Ozaki Macias outlined a vision for the next 50 years of the Sweden-Tanzania partnership. She envisioned the two countries as “partners in support of a rule-based world order” that addresses climate challenges and supports equitable trade flows.
“I would like to have Tanzania side by side in the international arena as well,” she said.
“Not only bilaterally. The world needs Tanzania’s voice. You have always been the fighter for freedom. You have been hosting freedom fighters. You have been a very peaceful country. So I think you have something to tell not only Africa, but the rest of the world.”
On international law and global governance, Ambassador Ozaki Macias stressed that while international law itself has not changed, countries’ perceptions and interpretations have shifted.
She called for standing together on agreed international regulations, particularly through UN reform and dialogue on regional conflicts, including the Great Lakes situation, Ukraine, and the Middle East.
“We know that war and armed conflicts are the most important factors when it comes to regression, violence, humanitarian crises, etc. And there I think we are on the same line,” she concluded.
