Discuss how Sweden’s current policy addresses issues of rurality, livelihoods and gender
According to Oxford Dictionary (2014), foreign policy is government’s strategy in dealing with other nations. In Sweden, the foreign policy and international cooperation is a responsibility of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs (MFA). It includes developing and implementing Sweden's foreign and security policy, the policy for trade and promotion of Swedish interests abroad, and international development cooperation (Ministry for Foreign Affairs, Communications Department, 2014). It is the largest of the 12 ministries and is responsible for many institutions in Sweden. These include the Swedish Institute, the Swedish International Development Cooperation Agency (Sida), Business Sweden and the Board of Trade and some 100 missions abroad. This paper seeks to discuss how the current statement of policy address issues of rurality, livelihoods and gender.
On behalf of MFA, Sida plays an important role as an agency working and cooperating with other agencies to implement Sweden's Policy for Global Development (PGU). The focus is to enable poor and oppressed people to reduce poverty. The global population is projected to reach 9 billion by year 2050 (Martindale, n.d.). One of Sida´s main focal areas in this regard is sustainable agriculture and food security so that the increased population will have enough to feed. According to Sida (2014), agriculture is essential for survival and a way of life for the poor living in rural areas that are often affected by malnutrition minus. Most of them are living in Africa and South Asia. More so, almost 70% of the poor live in rural areas where agriculture is the primary socio-economic activity, and where an increased threat to the environment is increasing. The Sweden policy is thus committed to promoting a sustainable agricultural system and help countries in Africa and South Asia to mitigate effects of climate change. The current system...