Swedish biggest ever trade delegation visiting Vietnam

The delegation aims to discuss innovative and sustainable Swedish solutions and investments in key sectors of importance to the Vietnamese economy, such as infrastructure and manufacturing. During the visit, the Minister and the Swedish delegation will meet with top leaders of cities, ministries and business community, to discuss Swedish-Vietnamese business relations.

There will be two high-profile events organised on this occasion. First is a joint roundtable on “Fostering Innovation Led Growth – Sharing best practices from Sweden and Vietnam”; the event is jointly organised with the Ministry of Science and Technology.

It will be followed by a seminar on “Creating Sustainable Societies – Sharing best practices from Sweden and Vietnam” to discuss how Sweden and Vietnam can share best practices to mutually develop in this field. The seminar is organised in partnership with the Ministry of Trade and Industry.

Mrs Ann Linde said “the Swedish government has adopted an ambitious export strategy aiming at increasing trade and boost participation of Swedish companies in the global economy.  Bilateral trade and investments in Southeast Asia, the growth engine of the world, forms an important part of this aim.

By having the second biggest growth rate in the world, Vietnam has a key role to play in the region. With the implementation of the progressive Free Trade Agreement, Swedish trade with Vietnam, and Swedish companies investing in the country, would certainly grow”.

Sweden’s focus on innovation is evident from the country’s high spending on R&D – Sweden spends 3.6% of GDP on research, more than the EU average of 3%.

 Further, environmental awareness, early environmental regulation and an innovative and industrious society, have made Sweden one of the world’s most sustainable countries; Sweden gets the highest share of its energy from renewable sources, and Sweden now has the ambition to become one of the world’s first fossil-free nations. To support this, the Government has allocated SEK 400 million for research and development of environment technology.