Sweden

The Embassy of India and Invest Sweden jointly organized a Business Seminar to discuss the current status as well as future prospects of expanding economic cooperation between India and Sweden at India House, Stockholm on 21 June 2012. The Seminar provided a welcome opportunity to hear the views and ideas of the Business community, not only on the existing cooperation, but equally importantly, on the new initiatives that could be embarked upon to deepen the engagement in the economic sphere between the two countries. The event was moderated by Mr. Gautam Bhattacharyya. H.E. Mr. Gunnar Oom, State Secretary to Minister for Trade delivered the Key-Note Address and inaugurated the Seminar. State Secretary Mr. Gunnar Oom spoke about growing trade relations between India and Sweden. He referred to some of the upcoming visits from Sweden to India as well as the decision by the Swedish Government to open a Consulate General Office in Mumbai. In his address, Ambassador Ashok Sajjanhar sincerely thanked State Secretary Gunnar Oom for his key-note address. Ambassador primarily focused on two issues during his presentation. Firstly he wanted to set right some of the misconceptions that seem to have crept in over the last few months expressing doubt about the continued robust and dynamic growth of the Indian economy. Ambassador said that the Indian economy continues to be on track to register high and impressive growth in the coming years. He said that the external economic environment affects India like most countries in several different ways. The second aspect which Ambassador stressed during his speech is the potential and promise of expanding ties between India and Sweden. He said, at the political level relations between India and Sweden are warm and cordial which is signified in the surge in bilateral visits both ways over the last 2 years. Ambassador stated that the Swedish investment into India is also set to expand rapidly in the coming years. In the area of bilateral trade Ambassador informed that India's exports to Sweden increased from a little less than USD 600 million in 2009 to USD 929 million in 2011, an increase of more that 55% over 2 years at a time when the international economy was charting a particularly rough course on account of the euro-zone sovereign debt crisis. Ambassador also stressed that Swedish companies need to look at India not only as a huge market with a middle class of around 400 million people with average per capita purchasing capacity comparable to that in Europe and USA but to look at establishing joint ventures and undertaking joint projects in India. Ambassador said that this has already started happening and several Swedish companies have established their R & D, production and product development centers in India. Ambassador said that the innovative capabilities of Sweden and technically skilled resources in India will prove to be a win-win solution for both countries. Ambassador also spoke about the EU India Bilateral trade and Investment Agreement that has been under negotiation for the last 5 years which is likely to be concluded and signed in Brussels on 26th June 2012. Ambassador invited Ambassador S.K. Lambah, Special envoy of Prime Minister, who happened to be in town, to share his thoughts with the participants. Ambassador Lamba spoke about his brief experience in Sweden and about the prospects of growth of the Indian economy. India would be investing USD 1.5 trillion over the next 5 years to upgrade its infrastructure. This was followed by the address of Mr. Bengt-Åke Ljudén, Deputy CEO of Invest Sweden. He spoke about his experiences from India and the potential of cooperation between the two countries in the area of ICT and Life sciences. Ms. Agneta Bergwall CEO, Kemwell AB Sweden spoke about her company's operations in India. In her speech she brought out issues regard to VISA processing by Swedish Embassy in New Delhi, bureaucracy in India and cultural differences in business environment. Mr. Håkan Kingstedt, Chairman SIBC, spoke about his experiences in India as the Managing Director of Sandvik Asia. He acknowledged what Ambassador spoke about the growing relations between India and Sweden. This was followed by a lively and interactive Question - Answer Session in which questions were posed by several participants in the Seminar. A book titled 'EU-Asia and the Re-polarization of the Global Economic Arena' by Professor Lars Oxelheim was released by H.E Mr. Gunnar Oom, State Secretary, Ambassador Mr. S.K. Lambah and Ambassador Sajjanhar. The Seminar was followed by an Indian buffet-dinner Reception over which interesting, useful and fruitful interactions took place.

• published: 21 Jun 2012
• views: 637