Swedish businesspeople are becoming more interested in developing trade relations with Belarus

Swedish businesspeople are becoming increasingly more interested in developing trade relations with Belarus, Stefan Eriksson, head of the Minsk Section Office of the Swedish embassy in Russia, told reporters on June 4, BelaPAN reported.

He expressed hope that a meeting held by representatives of Swedish and Belarusian business circles in Stockholm on May 28 would help increase the amount. Up to 70 representatives of Swedish companies attended the meeting, which is a good result, he said.

According to Swedish statisticians, Belarus’ imports from Sweden increased by 39 percent in 2007 to almost one billion kronor ($165.5 million), while its exports declined to 435 million kronor, mainly because of a decrease in the export of petroleum products.

Seven joint companies involving Swedish capital and five Swedish-owned companies operated in Belarus as of late 2007 – not many, but enough for the traditional Swedish industry to be represented in the Belarusian market, Mr. Eriksson said. Some of the joint companies are engaged in developing new technologies, a sector of the Belarusian economy that employs many highly skilled personnel, he said.

The Belarusian delegation to the Stockholm meeting reportedly included officials of the foreign ministry’s external economic relations department, the transport and industry ministries, the National Bank, the Belarusian Chamber of Commerce and Industry, and the housing construction department of the Minsk City Executive Committee, as well as representatives of the MAZ-Kupava truck trailer and carriage body maker, the Beldzyarzhekspertyza design certification agency, and furniture maker Maladzyechnameblya.

The main objective of the event titled, “Belarus-Sweden: Partners in Business,” was to inform the Swedish participants about the manufacturing, export and investment potential of Belarus to interest them in active business cooperation.