Sustainable Development and Partnership for Economic Development
The 8th Swedish-Ukrainian Business Forum was held in Kyiv at the Parkoviy Metropolitan Congress and Exhibition Center on May the 23rd, 2019. From year to year, the number of participants of this event is increasing, and this indicates that business circles of Ukraine and Sweden are significantly interested in it. Traditionally, a large-scale event of the national level was organized with the direct assistance of the Swedish Embassy in Ukraine. A non-governmental organization “Swedish Business Association in Ukraine” (SBA) was also among the organizers. This year’s main topics of the Forum were decentralization, stability in business development and establishment of cooperation in the banking sector.
– The main idea of the event is to establish stable economic relations between our countries. It’s about exporting from Sweden and Ukraine. For 8 years we have been conducting the Forum and seen a steady increase in the demand for such a format of communication. This year about 600 participants from 40 Ukrainian and Swedish companies attended the event. Many interesting business achievements were presented. And I am convinced of the need to implement such events further, ” said Mr. Martin Hagström, the Ambassador Extraordinary and Plenipotentiary of Sweden to Ukraine.
-The development of Ukrainian exports was discussed at the Forum. We have high achievements in Swedish exports, and therefore the most famous Swedish companies today are sharing their experience with Ukrainian manufacturers in terms of gaining new markets, building, organizing and developing business” -says Bogdan Senchuk, The President of the Swedish Business Association in Ukraine (SBA).
This year’s Forum had significant expert representatives. In particular, Deputy Chairwoman of the National Bank of Sweden Cecilia Skingsley, Vice Speaker of the Swedish Parliament Kerstin Lundgren, Secretary General of the Stockholm Chamber of Commerce Annette Magnusson took part in it. A display of well-known Swedish brands in the fields of motor and tool industries, robotics, IT, home appliances production, goods for beauty and health have become a сenterpiece of the forum. Baryshivska grain company GrainAlliance was honored to represent the agrarian branch there. During the first panel discussion devoted to issues of stability and social responsibility of the company, the chairman of the board of directors of the company, Johan Claesson, made a speech. He focused on “How to successfully combine business rationality and social responsibility with employees and communities.” In general, the forum has become another step towards establishing broad relations between the Swedish and Ukrainian business circles.
– A number of important events took place within the Forum. So businessmen met with the Adviser on economic issues of the President of Ukraine and discussed economic policy and initiatives. It is extremely important today to understand the further steps that will be taken in Ukraine to establish an investment climate. We thank the Embassy of Sweden and the Ambassador for organizing this meeting. We believe that it is really important to participate in such events and be present on the world stage, ” noted Evgeniy Radovenyuk, CEO of BZK Grain Alliance AB.
The outcomes of the 8th Swedish-Ukrainian Forum will beсome the basis for the future similar events. Of course, we anticipate even bigger number of participants and a wider range of interesting topics.