In the last days of June, Muslim countries are still angry about the burning of the Quran in Sweden. Yemen’s Houthi rebels protesting the incident have now decided to boycott Sweden’s goods. The Houthi-run TV channel Alamsira has reported that the Houthis have banned imports from Sweden. According to a report by Al Jazeera, Houthi Trade Minister Muhammad Sharaf al-Mutahar said that the decision to ban imports from Sweden was made on July 4. taken After this, it has been implemented since last Saturday. He urged the rest of the Muslim countries not to allow Swedish goods to enter their country. Alamsira quoted the Houthi trade minister as saying, ‘Yemen is the first Islamic country to ban the import of Swedish goods after insulting the Quran. .’
Houthi’s Department of Trademarks and Commercial Agencies has prepared a list of 30 Swedish agencies and 100 Swedish brands that will not be imported into the country. Trade Minister Al-Mutahar said that the decision to ban the import of Swedish goods was passed with the approval of the Council of Ministers and a committee has been formed to implement it. If so, the owner will be arrested. We have held a meeting with the private sector regarding this and they have welcomed our decision with an open heart.’A Houthi leader, Syed Abdulmalik, said on Alamsira TV that if Muslim countries unite and boycott Sweden and its goods. He said, “The least we can punish Sweden for the crime of burning the Koran is to end diplomatic relations with it and boycott it financially.” Do it. At the end of 2014, the Houthis removed the government of Yemen supported by Saudi Arabia from the capital Sana’a and occupied many areas of the country. The government of the Houthis runs in northern Yemen, while the Political Leadership Council created last year in Yemen has gained international recognition.
On the occasion of Bakrid in Sweden on June 28, Salwan Momika, an Iraqi refugee, set fire to a copy of the Quran in front of a mosque in the capital Stockholm. Monika first crushed the Qur’an with a knife, tore its pages and then set it on fire. After the video of this incident came out, the Muslim countries were outraged. Countries like Saudi Arabia, United Arab Emirates, Turkey, Pakistan, Morocco, Kuwait, etc. strongly criticized the incident and demanded Sweden strictly prevent such incidents. Many Muslims including Iraq, Kuwait and the United Arab Emirates, Saudi Arabia Countries have also expressed their opposition to Sweden’s ambassadors by raising their salaries. However, no country has yet imposed an import ban on Sweden. The Houthis are the first group to impose an import ban on Sweden. The trade minister of the Houthis said, ‘This is a symbolic step because the trade between the two countries is limited. Ramson Paludan, a far-right leader of Sweden, burned the Quran. Even after this incident, the Houthis imposed an import ban on Sweden. The Houthi cabinet approved the boycott of goods from Sweden, Denmark, the Netherlands, America and Israel.
According to the latest data from the United Nations COMTRADE database on international trade, Yemen’s imports from Sweden were 2.618 million in 2019. Meanwhile, according to Sweden’s official statistics service, compared to the first quarter of 2022, Yemen’s imports in the first quarter of this year Swedish exports have increased by 28 per cent. In Yemen, most of the exports from Sweden are cars. After this comes the place of wood and electronic equipment.
