STOCKHOLM—Six ambassadors representing the Asean Committee in Stockholm (ACS) recently engaged Swedish Minister for Foreign Trade Ann Linde in a dialogue.
Linde affirmed that the Asean is an important region for Sweden, as the Nordic country is determined to enhance its cooperation with the Asian regional bloc within the framework of European Union (EU)-Asean relations.
The trade minister recalled the agreement of the 22nd Asean-EU Ministerial Meeting in January 2019, which aimed to upgrade the two region’s relations toward a strategic partnership and a future free-trade agreement.
ACS Chairman and Ambassador of Indonesia to Sweden Bagas Hapsoro invited Sweden to further its cooperation with Asean, notably in the fields of trade and investments, environmental protection, human-resources development and sociocultural exchanges. He mentioned the opportunities for cooperation within the bloc’s three key economic areas: equipping Asean for the Fourth Industrial Revolution; enhancing the region’s connectivity through the Asean Trade, Investment and Tourism Single Window; and enabling its sustainable economic development.
Ambassador of the Philippines to Norway Jocelyn Batoon-Garcia said that Asean is pleased with the increasing interest of Sweden in intensifying its engagement and dialogue with the region, as she described it as one of “economic vibrancy.”
Batoon-Garcia cited the continuing impressive economic performance of the Philippines and its 6.2-percent gross domestic product growth in 2018, which has been the average rate for the last 10 years. She affirmed the Philippines’s keen interest to increase exchanges in trade and investments with Sweden. She welcomed the recent decision of Business Sweden to increase its manpower complement in Manila, as well as the recent announcement of Ambassador Harald Fries that their country offers employment opportunities for Filipino software engineers and health-care workers.
Noting the presence of more than 600 companies in Southeast Asian countries, the Asean ambassadors and ministers believe that there remains great potential for increasing and strengthening two-way trade and investment flows between the regional bloc and Sweden. Toward this end, the envoys and Linde agreed to continue their dialogue in finding new areas to cooperate and learn from each other.
The ACS is chaired by Hapsoro, and is composed of ambassadors from Indonesia, Lao PDR, Malaysia, the Philippines, Thailand and Vietnam. DFA
Image credits: Oslo PE