Sustainable development on the agenda for the Swedish Environmental Delegation to Vietnam
Jan. 30, 2004 -- Urban planning and development of sustainable cities are main topics during the Swedish Environmental Delegation visit to Vietnam.
The Swedish Ministry of the Environment and environmental companies will share their experience in sustainable development in connection with the state visit to Vietnam of His Majesty King Carl XVI Gustaf and Her Majesty Queen Silvia of Sweden.
On February 3 and 5 the Swedish Trade Council is organizing, through The Swedish Environmental Technology Network, two seminars in Hanoi and Ho Chi Minh City respectively with the theme "Developing an Environmentally Sustainable Society" in close cooperation with the Swedish Embassy, the Consulate General of Sweden and the Ministry of the Environment.
The seminars focus on urban planning and development of environmentally sustainable cities as well as ways of facilitating the development of more sustainable industries. The Swedish delegation includes prominent environmental technology companies within air pollution control, water and wastewater treatment and waste management and representatives from government and authorities.
Introduction speakers will be Mai Ai Truc, Minister for Natural Resources and Environment, Vietnam, Nguyen Van Dua, Vice Chairman, HCMC People's Committee, Vietnam and Mr Krister Nilsson, State Secretary of the Ministry of the Environment, Sweden. His Majesty King Carl XVI Gustaf of Sweden will participate in the closing ceremony of the seminar and will be presented with a summary and conclusions from the seminar.
- Sustainable production and consumption patterns are essential to the creation of societies characterized by welfare and environmental protection in order to reduce emission of harmful substances and make the use of natural resources more efficient. To this end, cooperation with the business sector and investments in new technologies are vital, says Krister Nilsson, State Secretary, Ministry of the Environment, Sweden.
Environmental concerns have been of top priority for Swedish governments for more than thirty years. Many environmental challenges remain but the recent World Summit on Sustainable Development in Johannesburg has laid the groundwork and shown the way forward for continued environmental efforts on a global scale. A major goal in this context is to achieve more sustainable production and consumption patterns. Sweden and Vietnam have many years of shared environmental cooperation, among other things a successful cooperation in the SEMA programme on strengthening Environmental Management in Vietnam.
- "The Sustainable City" is a concept based on a holistic view and close cooperation between the private and public sectors in creating sustainable technical solutions. Swedish companies offer their experience and competence to the Vietnamese market and hope for close cooperation with its Vietnamese counterparts, says Rutger Engsäll, Senior Vice President at the Swedish Trade Council and head of the Swedish Environmental Technology Network.
Swedish Companies participating in the seminars are:
Bombardier Transportation Sweden AB www.bombardier.com, Carl Bro International AB www.carlbro.se, Elof Hansson AB www.elof-hansson.com, Gordic Sweden AB www.gordic.se, ITT Flygt AB www.flygt.com, NCC International AB www.ncc.se, Scania CV AB www.scania.com, Swedish Geotechnical Institute SGI www.swedgeo.se, IVL Swedish Environmental Research Institute www.ivl.se, Volvo Corporation www.volvo.com, ÅF-International AB www.af.se
The seminar and exhibition will take place at Hanoi Daewoo Hotel, Hanoi, Tuesday, February 3, and at Sheraton Saigon Hotel and Towers, Ho Chi Minh City, Thursday, February 5, 2004. Information about the seminar and the concept "The Sustainable City" is available on the Internet at www.swedentech.swedishtrade.se, see also included program.