mr president madam vice president excellencies ladies and gentlemen
democracy is the result of women and men demanding fair and equitable sharing of power
and it is something that we must continue to work for each and every day
and i commend president biden for holding this summit for democracy and for suggesting concrete
pledges to sharpen the focus of the work on democracy sweden will do its part in this process
across the world we see growing authoritarian tendencies and human rights being violated with
impunity to reverse these trends we all have work to do we must stand up for shared values
and confront those advocating authoritarian government and the best way of doing so
is by showing that democracy still delivers it is the formal government that credibly safeguards
human rights it allows scrutiny of power accountability and peaceful transfer of power it
creates stability security and economic prosperity and it remains the only reliable way to facilitate
social and economic equality as decision makers we must also safeguard equality and inclusiveness
because when excluded from society people are also excluded from any meaningful opportunity
to exercise their civic rights and duties if we allow inequalities to keep growing
the foundations of democracy will ultimately be threatened
as prime minister of a country celebrating a century of democracy this year
i am committed to developing and deepening our democracy
we will strengthen our work to counteract racism enhance legal protection against discrimination at
home and remain an active partner for promotion of democracy abroad we will also expand and increase
our international outreach through the drive for democracy initiative
and enabled more frank conversations on how to best overcome democratic challenges
and as the current chair of the osse sweden promotes human rights democracy and the rule of
law it is our conviction that promoting democracy is an investment in stability and security
and this is something that will also guide our upcoming presidency of the council of eu
in 2023 and as a leading tech country we aim to ensure that technological standards are developed
on based on democratic principles to serve open societies and democratic development globally
and in assuming the presidency of the international holocaust remembrance alliance
we will follow up on the many pledges made during the malmo forum in october
to remember the holocaust and to combat anti-semitism and other forms of racism
doug hamachold the former u.n secretary general once wrote
only they who keep their eyes fixed on the far horizon will find the right road
so let us keep our eyes fixed on the horizon if we do i'm sure that we will not
only find the right road but also more companions along the way to democracy for all thank you