Sweden 'would be totally up for inviting in 40,000 Hungarian gays'
Swedish trade minister Benjamin Dousa has called for Sweden to strengthen its image as an "open and freedom-loving country" which welcomes foreigners who want to start businesses or develop their careers, throwing out a welcome mat to victims of Hungary's Pride ban.
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During a panel discussion held as part of the publication of the Swedish Institute's new strategy to boost Sweden's image, he burst out: "We'd be totally up for inviting in 40,000 Hungarian gays".
"It's just this idea about Sweden as an open country," he told QX magazine of the joke, a nod to a famous prank call mounted by the comedian Fredrik Lindström during Sweden's EU membership referendum campaign.
"There are several countries that are moving in a more authoritarian direction. There are more countries that are raising tariffs and shutting themselves off," he continued. "It's not a development that an open and freedom-loving country like Sweden wants to see. We are open to people coming here regardless of whether they want to work here, start a business here, raise a family here, or invest in Sweden."
The Swedish Institute on Tuesday reported the results of a national drive it has led on the orders of the government to "strengthen Sweden's international competitiveness, create trust and increase resilience against misleading information about Sweden".
As part of the drive, more than 300 organisations – including business, higher education, government agencies, and civil society groups – have provided suggestions on how to boost the image of Sweden internationally.
The result is a strategy that builds on Sweden's existing image of a well-governed country with a strong welfare state.
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"People across the world associate our country with equality, high quality of life and the green transition," the report reads. "Let's demonstrate the value of freedom, equality, and cooperation at a time when worryingly many others are pushing in the other direction, and at the same time boost Sweden's competitiveness."
The new strategy, which Dousa was attending the launch of, aims to sell Sweden as a country that "gives room to grow", with a strong democracy providing the foundation for a culture based around "reliability" and "creativity" and a "willingness to cooperate", which in turn leads to a business and social environment where people and companies can grow, leading in turn to an innovative society.
Sweden did not want to just recruit people from countries like Hungary, where the government in March banned LGBT Pride marches, Dousa said, but also from the US, where the worsening climate for business, immigrants and academic freedom could produce opportunities for Sweden.
"The same applies to the US," he said. "40,000 top talents from tech companies and universities are welcome to come to Sweden. We are working very intensively to attract that type of immigration to Sweden. We have reduced the processing times from around 100 days to just over two weeks."
Dousa said that Lars Strannegård, President of the Stockholm School of Economics, had told him that he believed Sweden was in a good position to attract promising researchers from the US who were near the start of their careers.
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"Those who have perhaps just completed their doctorate," he said. "What Sweden offers is a combination of academic excellence and an innovative business community together with the softer values associated with being one of the most innovative, tolerant countries in the world."
READ ALSO: 'Never waste a good crisis': How Sweden wants to attract US talent fleeing Trump
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