Brazil–Sweden Strategic Innovation Partnership
Brazil and Sweden have shared a Strategic Partnership since 2009. It provides a long‑term framework for cooperation across innovation, technology development, industry, and defense, and has gradually evolved into a structured and results‑oriented collaboration involving governments, public agencies, academia, and industry in both countries.
Over time, the partnership has developed into two closely connected high‑level tracks. One focuses on advanced aeronautics, while the other addresses broader innovation cooperation in strategically important societal and industrial areas.
In 2015, cooperation within aeronautics was strengthened through the establishment of the High‑Level Group on Aeronautics (HLG). This collaboration builds on long‑standing industrial and research cooperation linked to Brazil’s investment in the JAS 39 Gripen program and has brought together researchers, companies, and public actors from both countries. Over the years, this work has generated concrete results in areas such as aviation technology, advanced systems and artificial intelligence.
To complement the aeronautics cooperation, Brazil and Sweden launched the Innovation Partnership on Innovative High Technological Industrial Cooperation (SGI) in 2016. The purpose of the SGI is to strengthen and formalise collaboration in innovation areas beyond aeronautics, where both countries share strategic interests and strong innovation ecosystems.
The SGI is coordinated at governmental level, with the Swedish Ministry of Climate and Enterprise and Brazil’s Ministry of Science, Technology and Innovation (MCTI) acting as focal points. Overall direction is set through annual high‑level meetings, while the Executive Committee of Innovation (ECI) is responsible for coordinating and following up activities throughout the year.
During high‑level meetings in 2019, the partners agreed on a common focus for innovation cooperation and identified a set of priority areas for further collaboration. These areas include life science and healthcare, sustainable cities, sustainable mining and bioeconomy. Since then, points of contact have been appointed in both countries within each thematic area to support collaboration by connecting stakeholders, mapping innovation ecosystems, and identifying opportunities for joint initiatives.
Parallel to this work, funding agencies from both countries have established regular coordination, which has enabled joint innovation calls, matchmaking activities and collaborative projects. Since 2020, this has resulted in a growing number of opportunities for Swedish and Brazilian actors to engage in concrete cooperation.
As cooperation has matured and expanded, the partnership has been renewed through successive action plans. A new Action Plan was approved in 2023, and in autumn 2025 the Innovation Partnership was further renewed through an updated working plan, reaffirming the long‑term commitment of both countries and setting a clear direction for continued collaboration.
Working Plan on Innovation 2026–2027
The Innovation Partnership is implemented through time‑limited working plans that translate strategic priorities into concrete guidance for ongoing cooperation.
The current Working Plan on Innovation for the period 2026–2027 was endorsed in 2025. It reflects the maturity and dynamism of the bilateral relationship and provides a common operational framework for activities carried out within the partnership. The working plan defines priority thematic areas, clarifies roles and responsibilities within the cooperation, and outlines planned activities, coordination mechanisms, and links to relevant funding agencies.
For the 2026–2027 period, the working plan continues to focus on sustainable mining, sustainable cities, bioeconomy, and digital health and life science. It also places greater emphasis on closer integration of innovation ecosystems, stronger links between research excellence and industrial applications, and greater involvement of startups and emerging actors.
The working plan serves as a living document and may be updated as new initiatives emerge or as cooperation evolves over time.
From partnership to participation
Today, the Brazil–Sweden Innovation Partnership provides a stable and structured platform for long‑term collaboration between public actors, research organisations and companies in both countries. It contributes to strengthened bilateral relations, enhanced innovation capacity and sustainable growth, and forms part of the preparations ahead of the 200‑year anniversary of diplomatic relations between Brazil and Sweden in 2026.
For organisations and stakeholders interested in engaging more actively in the partnership, concrete collaboration is primarily enabled through structured processes such as the Innovation Action System (IAS) and Innomatch. These processes support project development, partner identification and the formation of joint initiatives within the framework of the partnership.
