Last Updated on May 15, 2020
This week, the Swedish parliament voted to spend the equivalent of over $2 million in taxpayer assets to bail out Somalia’s massive debt with the International Monetary Fund.
The bailout consists of 21 million Swedish kronor, and was voted for unanimously by every party except the Swedish Democrats.
Somalia has refused to make payments towards its debt and interest, and geopolitical consultants have been begging for a bailing for the struggling African nation during the COVID-19 pandemic.
Voice of Europe reported that the bailout will be handled by Sweden’s central bank, Riksbank:
The payment will be made by Sweden’s Riksbank, which is the country’s central bank. The proposal submitted to the Swedish Parliament, which was been made available on its official website, justifies the move by claiming that Somalia has been unable to take out new loans from the IMF “for a long time” because the African country hasn’t been making its debt or interest payments.
The proposal also says that Somalia’s inability to repay its IMF debt has prevented it from getting access to other forms of aid and loans, which in turn has negatively impacted the country’s economy.
In other news involving Sweden and Africa, a Swedish teen was murdered while unsuccessfully attempting to save a Swedish woman from a rape at the hands of a Sudanese migrant:
Tommie Lindh, 19, was murdered when stepping in to fight off a rapist sexually assault a woman at a party in Härnösand on Sunday.
The unnamed 22-year-old Sudanese migrant, who became a Swedish citizen in 2011, is facing murder and aggravated rape charges following the incident, according to Exakt24.
Lindh was reportedly stabbed during a struggle in which he attempt to defend the unnamed woman, who was in the process of being raped.
Although the teenager was rushed to hospital, he had lost a substantial amount of blood. He shortly succumbed to his wounds after receiving medical attention.
Sweden has long been a proponent of compassion towards the African continent and migrants displaced by the civil turmoil occurring in that region.
