Sweden celebrates National Day
Ambassador Harald
Fries of Sweden hosted a cocktail reception at the Grand Hyatt Manila Ballroom in Taguig City to celebrate the National Day of Sweden that commemorates the election of King Gustav Vasa in 1523 and the adoption of a new constitution in 1809 — both of which fall on June 6.
The population of Sweden may be small at 10 million, but it has a standard of living that has been described as enviable. This Nordic nation’s economy is also robust, registering 19 consecutive quarters of growth as it expanded for the first quarter at a rate higher than forecast.
Not many know that the Philippines and Sweden established formal diplomatic relations in 1947. In 2008, the Swedish government closed down its embassy in Manila in the aftermath of the global economic crisis, but reopened it in November 2016 with Ambassador Harald Fries announcing, “We’re back in town.”
According to the Ambassador, the Swedish government, led by Prime Minister Stefan Löfven, saw great potential in the Philippines, pointing to the “very positive economic development” that was happening. According to the Prime Minister, they saw a lot of promise in increased trade, investment and people-to-people exchange between Sweden and the Philippines.
Relations between these two nations are certainly growing stronger, evidenced by recent developments such as the formal launch of the Philippines-Sweden Business Council (PSBC) by the Philippine Chamber of Commerce and Industry and the Embassy of Sweden earlier this year. Ambassador Fries sees the PSBC as a key organization that would promote and enhance trade and investment relations as well as strengthen business linkages.
According to Business Sweden (Philippines), an organization jointly owned by the Swedish government and business sector, there are about 40 companies in the Philippines, with half of them multinationals while several have been here for more than two decades.