Business opportunities in and with the Philippines is the title of the first in a range of trade promotion events held in Sweden this October.
The road show is arranged by the trade section at Sweden’s embassy in Manila.
“We begin Thursday the 7th in Stockholm,” says Ulf Walden, minister at Sweden’s embassy in Manila who travels to Sweden along with commercial officer Nayoka Martinez. ”The two days in Stockholm will focus on information about the Asian Development Bank, ADB, and how to get access to ADB projects and funding.”
He and Nayoka Martinez will also have one to one meetings with Swedish companies interested in the Filipino market. The road show continues to Gothenburg, Malmö and southern Sweden where it ends 22 October.
This promotion trip was preceded by a two day Sweden event in the Philippines’s second largest city Cebu 17 and 18 September.
“The Embassy was generally happy with the forum. The turnout was good, about 60 Filipino exporters and importers attended. The co-organizers Cebu Chamber of Commerce and Industry (CCCI) and the Philippine Confederation of Exporters (Philexport-Cebu) were the correct organizations to partner with on trade related events,” says Nayoka Martinez.
Ulf Walden adds that the focus on the Cebu days was on export opportunities for Filipino companies.
“They were served a smorgasbord of Sweden related information. Everything from Swedish business culture to examples of concrete market opportunities. Attendance reflected what Cebu is good at: IT, tourism and travel, furniture and jewelry,” explains Ulf Walden.
How will you follow up on Cebu, except the current road show?
“In 2005, the Embassy plans to organize a workshop for Philippine exporters, in cooperation with Philexport and the Swedish Import Council. A similar event will also be organized by the Embassy for exporters and importers based in Davao City. Cooperation with the Cebu Chamber of Commerce will be in the form of trade missions and business delegations, specifically in the area of IT services and BPO. The embassy is also actively promoting the inclusion of trade issues in the country strategy for Swedish technical cooperation with the Philippines,” says Nayoka Martinez.
