Minister for Trade Ewa Björling visits Jordan and Syria
Minister for Trade Ewa Björling has visited the capitals of Jordan and Syria, Amman and Damascus, along with Swedish companies to stimulate increased trade between those countries and Sweden.
During the visit to Jordan the delegation met Minister of Industry and Trade Amer Al Hadidi, who emphasised his country's interest in Swedish industry. Dr Björling also participated in a business seminar arranged by the Swedish Trade Council highlighting opportunities for Swedish companies to establish themselves in the country.
Great interest was also shown in Syria, a country that would be happy to see more Swedish companies established. Sweeping social reforms are currently under way and Deputy Prime Minister for Economic Affairs Abdullah al-Dardari hoped that Sweden would be able to assist in building up Syria, as he sees Sweden as being at the forefront in many areas, including IT, telecom and environmental technology.
The delegation included representatives from Telia Sonera, Purcell Systems, Ericsson, ABB, Siemens, the Swedara Business Group, Swedfund, Tetra Pak, Albina Snacks, Sida, Nordea and the Swedish Export Credits Guarantee Board.
The two countries are both medium-sized markets in the Middle East that are of interest to Swedish business. They have shown good growth figures in recent years and, up to now, they have been relatively unaffected by the negative consequences of the global financial crisis.
Dr Björling also highlighted issues to do with human rights and corporate social responsibility during the meetings.
