Johan Forssell takes part in a meeting with EU trade ministers in Brussels

The first item on the agenda is a forward-looking discussion of EU trade policy with a focus on trade and competitiveness.

– The prevailing global and security situation demonstrates the need for resilient value chains and strategic partnerships. The EU needs to protect free trade and conclude more free trade agreements. This is crucial if we want to enhance our competitiveness, says Development and Trade Minister Johan Forssell.

The Council will then discuss the EU's trade relations with Africa.

Africa is important to Europe, both geopolitically and economically, with a growing population and raw material wealth central to the global green transition. It is urgent to increase the processing of these raw materials in African countries, because it contributes to job creation and development, and also reduces dependence on other countries where most of the processing operations take place today. This is where the EU can support. We want to see an increase in trade – in both directions, says Johan Forssell.

The meeting concludes with a lunch discussion, where ministers discuss the way forward after the Thirteenth Ministerial Conference of the World Trade Organization held in February 2024.