Sweden would be “totally up for inviting 40,000 Hungarian gays,” trade minister announces

Swedish trade minister Benjamin Dousa has said Sweden would be up for “inviting in 40,000 Hungarian gays” to boost the country’s image in the wake of the Hungarian Parliament banning many public events, including Budapest Pride.

During a panel discussion held as part of the publication of the Swedish Institute‘s strategy to boost Sweden’s image, Dousa said: “We’d be totally up for inviting in 40,000 Hungarian gays”.

His comments come as the Swedish Institute reported the results of a national drive it has led on the orders of the government to “strengthen Sweden’s international competitiveness, create trust and increase resilience against misleading information about Sweden”.

Dousa said: “There are several countries that are moving in a more authoritarian direction. There are more countries that are raising tariffs and shutting themselves off.”

“It’s not a development that an open and freedom-loving country like Sweden wants to see. We are open to people coming here regardless of whether they want to work here, start a business here, raise a family here, or invest in Sweden,” he continued.

As part of the drive, more than 300 organisations – including business, higher education, government agencies, and civil society groups – have provided suggestions on how to boost the image of Sweden internationally.

The new strategy, which Dousa was attending the launch of, aims to sell Sweden as a country that “gives room to grow”, with a strong democracy providing the foundation for a culture based around “reliability” and “creativity” and a “willingness to cooperate”, which in turn leads to a business and social environment where people and companies can grow, leading in turn to an innovative society.

Sweden did not want to just recruit people from countries like Hungary, where the government in March banned LGBTQ+ Pride marches, Dousa said, but also from the United States.

“The same applies to the US,” he said. “40,000 top talents from tech companies and universities are welcome to come to Sweden. We are working very intensively to attract that type of immigration to Sweden. We have reduced the processing times from around 100 days to just over two weeks.”