“California is the world’s fifth-largest economy and a hub of technological innovation and research. Many Swedish businesses are already there, and it’s time for Sweden as a country to have a presence there too. Our interests in this state are strong and growing. Just like Sweden, California has long been at the forefront of the green transition, and with the new Consulate-General, our opportunities to promote contacts, trade and investment will further increase,” says Mr Forssell.

The Consulate-General in San Francisco opened on 1 January 2024 but will be officially inaugurated on 20 February. It enhances Sweden’s presence on the west coast of the United States and thus the opportunities to conduct more active promotion of trade and of the image of Sweden, primarily in the areas of green transition and new emerging technologies. It also improves the possibilities to provide consular support to Swedish citizens.

Mr Forssell, together with Crown Princess Victoria and Prince Daniel, will meet with Governor of California Gavin Newsom, and a cooperation agreement on promoting the green transition will be signed. In addition, the development of AI will be discussed on visits to tech giants OpenAI, Intel, NVIDIA and Google, as well as to Stanford University. The green transition and the business sector’s key role will be a central theme of the visit.