Sweden has announced that it will cut off foreign aid to more than 30 countries, including South Africa, Nicaragua, and Vietnam, in order to concentrate its relief efforts to needier nations. The Scandinavian country will also restructure its annual bilateral aid of $1.5 billion to combat poverty in Africa and promote democracy in Eastern Europe. Some of the countries that will no longer receive Swedish aid in the next four years are Russia, Indonesia, Vietnam, China, Nicaragua, South Africa, and Honduras. Aid minister Gunilla Carson said that the number of recipient countries will plummet from 70 to just 33, since some of them “have come so far that they can manage on their own.” Sweden is currently one of the world’s top foreign aid providers, with about $4.4 billion dispensed annually to developing countries.
Source: Sweden to phase out foreign aid to South Africa, Nicaragua, Vietnam (AP)