Bridging the North and South: Towards Sweden-India Development Cooperation Partnerships

Introduction

This essay offers a policy roadmap to enable Sweden and India to implement joint development cooperation initiatives in third countries in the Indian Ocean region and East Africa. It argues that Sweden and India share complementary, mutually reinforcing interests and values in supporting the Global South’s developing economies to achieve sustainable growth, address climate change and build inclusive institutions. This potential partnership would be congruent with the changing future development cooperation and geo-economic trajectories of both countries over the next decade. Sweden’s attention may currently be focused on the Russia-Ukraine war, but it is certain to intensify its engagements beyond Europe, including in Africa and the Indo-Pacific, where development cooperation is increasingly shaped by a more crowded and competitive geopolitical context. India is now an emerging donor that is expanding its development cooperation in line with its growing economic and security interests beyond South Asia. The Indian government is also increasingly willing to partner with other actors in the form of triangular development partnerships to expand its limited institutional capacity and geographic reach. This context offers an opportunity for Sweden and India to explore triangular partnerships that provide development solutions that are adapted, affordable, democratic and sustainable for the Global South.

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