In the shadow of typhoon Ketsama - unexpectedly high turnout

The interest for the Green Solutions event was high. More than 60 Swedish and 300 Vietnamese representatives joined the conference. A majority of the of the participants came from the private sector but a substantial amount from organizations, civil society and the public sector also attended.  The number of participants widely  exceeded the Embassy’s expectations, especially in light of the typhoon Ketsama which raised havoc and caused devastation in Vietnam just days before the event.

“Typhoon Ketsama left heavy consequences here and in the Philippines it caused the worst devastation for the past 40 years. Seminars like Green Solutions are vital for taking action and learn how to cope with such catastrophes”, said Mr Le Hoang Quan, Chairman of the People’s Committee in Ho Chi Minh City in his opening address. “This seminar will contribute to even stronger relations between Sweden and Vietnam,” he added.

Seminars and networking fair – a good concept

The programme had a mix of seminars and a networking fair. “We wanted to create a meeting where people would really go home with prospects of new partnerships” said Christian Lien, , First Secretary and Mattias Forsberg,  First Secretary , the main brains behind the event. “We put a lot of work into the match making concept and the mix of participants,  it looks like we did quite well.”

Participants agreed.  “I think this is a good arrangement. We had a good chance to introduce our business at the morning presentation, and then we spent the afternoon following up with contacts at the fair.  We have found six new, interesting contacts with whom we will explore possible partnerships” said Mr. Louis Hui, General Manager of ITT Water and Wastewater. He added a question “Will this programme be repeated annually? That would be good.”
 
To further assist the making of new partnerships, the organizers had invited representatives from various types of  Swedish financial support. Their presentations gave concrete advice on how to apply for the start-up funds.

“Attending this conference I get the feeling that the Swedish government has changed  its policy and is now more interested in business cooperation with Vietnam than before” said Ms Nguyen Viet Thu, Director for Bien Co, Biology – Environment – Joint Stock Company.  “I think that the initial funds are essential, and are an efficient tool because it costs money to meet new partners and to create relationships. It was interesting to hear about the various options” she continued.

Returning home with new prospects

When asked, participants said they were going home with new contacts for possible new partnerships. Overall, people were satisfied with their gains from the event.

“This was a good initiative, I have made contacts here. I came with open eyes, to see if we can increase our business in Vietnam. My regret is that I haven’t had the chance to speak with as many people as I would have liked to“ said Frank Larsgard, Director at Tricorona Carbon Asset Management.

Mikael Demitz-Helin, Regional Manager South East Asia, and Magnus Ståhl, Social/Environmental manager South East Asia  of IKEA  came to search for Swedish companies that can help their suppliers to save energy. “We have found a few contacts which we will follow up. The trick is to see if anyone is interested and capable of carrying out small projects. We need someone who can work with our suppliers on site, to reduce their energy consumption” said Magnus Stahl.

Most of the attendees were from the private sector, but civil society organizations also came and found the openings they were looking for.  Lise-Lotte Noren, Programme Manager at Swedish International Centre for Local Democracy came to Green Solutions on a fact-finding mission to explore opportunities for partnerships between Vietnamese and Swedish municipalities. “I have met many organizations that work with public environmental awareness, and I can see openings for partnerships in this area.”

Hans Lundberg of IVL (Swedish Environmental Research Institute)found a partner in Mrs Ton Nu Thi Ninh, President of Tri Vet University. “This is very exciting! We will set up a partner agreement with Tri Vet University around environment ant sustainable development” said Lundberg.

"Initial feedback shows that the Swedish participants got useful contacts and in many cases were able to discuss concrete cooperation or business projects before even leaving Ho Chi Minh City. This was the main purpose - to facilitate real results", says Mattias Forsberg. "We look forward to seeing many of them here again in the near future and assist in following up all these leads"

The relationship is changing between Sweden and Vietnam

“Four years ago there were 44 Swedish companies in Vietnam, now there are over 80”, said Marie-Louise Thaning, Counsellor and Head of the Embassy’s Political and Trade Section. While development cooperation if being phased out, trade between the two countries is growing.

“Sweden is staying in Vietnam, but our relationship is changing. Vietnam has an impressive economical growth and now it is natural to move away from bilateral aid We are forming new relationships and this event is a good example of how we are seeking partnerships between Swedish and Vietnamese institutions, businesses and other actors in many areas.” said Marie Ottosson, Minister and Head of the Embassy’s Development Cooperation Section, at a press conference during the event.  “Our role is to help partners to get started, but after the initial process partners and projects should be self-sustainable. I think we have managed well during this event to get this message across, and we are proud of all at the Embassy who have helped organizing this dynamic event”, concluded Ms Ottosson.