HEAD of Sweden’s National Day festivities on June 6 and the 75th year of its bilateral celebration with the Philippines, ENVOYS
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THUNBORG: Trade promotion is a priority domain for our embassy. I am pleased to see the policies and reforms implemented through the Philippine government in recent years that have made it less difficult to do business here and, more importantly, lifted more other people out of poverty and into the middle class, contributing to economic expansion and taking a step forward in the quality of life.
We hope that this reform policy will continue and be strengthened by the new government, which has made Swedish corporations such as IKEA and H attractive.
The Swedish companies will offer direct jobs to more than 17,000 Filipinos, with Transcom being the largest of them, employing an additional 10,000 people in Metro Manila, Davao City, Bacolod City and Iloilo City.
Beyond the pandemic, it is critical to avoid additional lockdowns and simplify unnecessary bureaucratic rules. To contribute to this effort, Team Sweden, comprised of the Embassy, Business Sweden and Swedish companies, has embarked on a booster vaccination campaign, ensuring that all its workers and families are fully vaccinated and strengthened.
We are involved to be informed that only 15% of the Filipino population has received a third vaccine despite simple vaccines, many of which have been donated through the COVAX mechanism, where Sweden is one of the largest participants according to capita. My country has donated 10 million doses of COVID-19 vaccines, basically through COVAX. More than 1. 5 million doses of vaccines have been donated to the Philippines. It also provided total support of $260 million for vaccines.
In light of the global crises we face: the pandemic, Russian aggression against Ukraine and the climate crisis, it is to rebuild better, in a more ecological and inclusive way, and to build resiliently and sustainably for future generations.
What sectors of this country will Sweden turn to for its local work?
Sweden has a lot to offer in smart shipping spaces and smart power responses with world-leading corporations such as Volvo, Scania, digitization giant Ericsson and Swedish-Swiss company ABB, as well as many small and medium-sized businesses. It has been especially rewarding to work with the Ministry of Transport on the development of the Edsa bus route, and we look forward to working with other cities interested in developing their public transport systems, such as Davao City. We hope that more small and medium-sized Swedish large companies will find the local market attractive, especially those that offer sustainable solutions in the field of renewable energy. The Philippines has great potential in this field: let’s turn plant calamities into positive energy turbines for the well. -Be and get advantages from your people!
Swedish corporations lead the way in innovation and sustainability : two of the Embassy’s priority areas. For us, sustainability includes environmental, social and economic aspects: commitment to a white and green environment through circular economy solutions, smart operating conditions, gender equality, capacity building. opportunities for all employees, good economic practices and absence of corruption. For us, it’s the “social sustainability of corporations,” which is doing smart business.
In addition, special projects are carried out through the Swedish Alumni Network, which leads projects such as the Sea Mariners program for coastal cleanup, revolution, a sustainable exhibition and programs for gender equality.
Sweden is also a major donor to foreign organizations and the United Nations. More than 25 UN agencies are active in the Philippines. We have humanitarian and progression programs, such as those similar to Typhoon “Odette” last December, and the peacebuilding procedure in the Bangsamoro Autonomous Region in Muslim Mindanao (BARMM).
We are also working on express projects, such as supporting TheArray’s peace and security calendar at BARMM with the United Nations Development Programme, as well as empowering disadvantaged communities in remote areas, in collaboration with the non-governmental organization (NGO) Islamic Alivio.
On the contrary, what are the spaces in this country that Sweden believes have a wonderful promise of improvement and how can your country make a really broad contribution?
I have visited the OMBI, and I continue to stress the importance of the continuation of the peacebuilding procedure, as well as foreigners and nationals for the cadres of the BARMM Transitional Authority. The dismantling procedure will have to continue and come with all parties and respect for human rights, adding indigenous peoples, which will have to be respected. This is not only vital for national security, but also for regional and global security.
Sweden was the first country to adopt a feminist foreign policy in 2014. Gender equality and women’s rights are the most sensible priorities for our embassy. We focus specifically on women’s sexual fitness and reproductive rights: women’s right to if they want to have children, lose access to contraceptives, the importance of sex education in schools, as it is a pressing factor in improving the physical condition and well-being of the Filipino population, and in decreasing poverty.
Together with the European Union and the UN, the Embassy is a voluntary observer of problems such as respect for universal human rights, civil and political, social, economic or cultural that have been appropriated by all nations, the strengthening of the rule of law and the maintenance of democracy, adding freedom of the press, freedom of expression and organization.
We commend the Joint United Nations Programme on Human Rights, which aims to affirm the Philippines’ commitment to the primacy of human rights, the importance of a flexible democratic area for civil society and the precept of external cooperation. We hope that this will continue to produce and prompt results, as well as concrete adjustments on the ground.
In 2022, Sweden and the Philippines commemorate 75 years of bilateral relations, and it is vital to highlight the strong mutual ties between our two countries, the firmness we have given to the Charter of the United Nations, as well as to international and humanitarian relations. law during the last year. We look to the future to move forward together, in cooperation with the public and private sectors, with NGOs, academia and civil society, with the EU, the UN and ASEAN.