During 30 November – 03 December a Swedish delegation will visit Bangkok ad Manila to meet with agencies, international organisations and local relief organisations. Thailand and the Philippines continue to have a great need for solutions that can assist in emergency relief efforts.
Invited by local authorities and relief organisations, Business Sweden and the Embassy of Sweden in Bangkok bring Swedish solutions and businesses to hold presentations and have face-to-face follow-up meetings with the targets. The objective with these meetings is for businesses to get feedback on their solutions and offerings and to identify an action plan on how to convert initial interest into business deals. In Manila it is the third time a delegation is arranged and previous events have been much appreciated by local organisations and multilateral development organizations.
Bangkok is the Asia Pacific hub and centre for decision making for many UN Agencies and programs, enabling relationship building on a strategic Asian level. This occasion will be an excellent opportunity to continue to build on already strong relations and interest for Swedish solutions initiated during previous events. In this delegation participants will meet potential customers, multilateral development organisations, government officials and the military. These are the key stakeholders responsible for the planning, procurement and execution of emergency relief and critical infrastructure projects.
In Bangkok the delegation will meet with the Department of Disaster Prevention and Mitigation (DDPM), Ministry of Interior – Working meeting at the DDPM together with other disaster management related authorities such as Ministry of Public Health, Department of Public Works, Ministry of Transport, Thai Metrological Department and National Disaster Warning Center, Ministry of Defence and Ministry of Social Development and Human Security
With the support of the Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (OCHA), a workshop will be organised on the topic “working with business to strengthen disaster preparedness and response in Thailand and Asia-Pacific”.
The delegation will also meet with the Thai Red Cross and the International Federation of the Red Cross.
In Manila the delegation will meet with Philippines Disaster Relief Foundation. There will also be matchmaking with International Relief Organisations and potential partners (e.g. UNDP, ICRC, WFP,
WHO, Save the Children and private organisations).
Demand for disaster solutions:
Thailand is each year affected by floods of different proportions. The major flood of 2011 put large parts of the country under water. Thailand’s proximity to earthquake zones also makes it exposed to tsunamis, as on Boxing Day 2004. In the last 15 years economic damages caused by disasters have been estimated to 43 billion USD.
Philippines are hit by nine storms annually. In 2013, the country was hit by the strongest typhoon on record, Haiyan, with damages alone estimated to 13 billion USD. Authorities plan to invest 8.4 million USD in reconstruction of affected areas up to 2018. The country is exposed to earthquakes and volcanic eruptions.
Thailand and the Philippines continue to have a great need for solutions that can assist in emergency relief efforts. Both countries are currently working on improving the level of preparedness and resilience to disasters.
