MercoPress. South Atlantic News Agency
Sweden to close embassy in Argentina because of budget constraints
Prime Minister Fredrik Reinfeldt's The Swedish government Wednesday said it would close five embassies next year due to budget constraints, among them offices in Argentina.
The embassies facing closure in 2011 are in Argentina, Belgium, Vietnam, Malaysia and Angola, the government said following a cabinet meeting.
Prime Minister Fredrik Reinfeldt's centre-right government is two seats shy of a majority in parliament, and failed to sway the opposition not to go ahead with the proposed cuts.
'This painful decision is the result of parliament's recent decision to cut appropriations to the government offices by 300 million kronor (about $44 million),' Foreign Minister Carl Bildt said.
Bildt has earlier estimated that the foreign ministry share of the 300-million-kronor cut was 135 million kronor.
Early this month the government narrowly lost a vote imposing a funding cut to government offices, defeated by the leftwing opposition and the far-right Sweden Democrats which entered parliament for the first time in September. It was the first time Reinfeldt's four-party coalition lost a vote in parliament since the election.
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Read all commentsArgentina, up there with the world heavy weights Belgium, Vietnam, Malaysia and Angola
Dec 23rd, 2010 - 08:48 am 0This might be to curry favor with UK, to make sure the extradition for Assange goes through.
Dec 23rd, 2010 - 02:24 pm 0OH, I see loser stick is here..........as always, living online and butthurting mad, for life, like the loser he is. What a sad, pathetic life, but I guess that's what happens when you live on a cold, baren rock.
Vietnam and Malaysia are increasingly important emerging markets. Argentina is a major producer of commodities and will continue to be for the foreseeable future. A pity that Sweden has to make this decision, but the reality is that two way trade and tourism is limited. Why don’t you British do the same? Your country is increasingly irrelevant in the new world order and your influence and contribution in Argentina are negligible. Some forecasts say that the UK won’t even be a Top 10 economy by 2015. Your ambassador has practically no access to the government and is not even invited to any major government functions ore events. Therefore save some money and close the embassy. You won’t be missed.
Dec 23rd, 2010 - 02:31 pm 0Commenting for this story is now closed.
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