Tal
Swedish-Russian Business Forum, Moskva 3 maj 2007
Maud Olofsson, Näringsminister, vice statsminister

Inledningsanförande på Swedish-Russian Business Forum

OBS! Det talade ordet gäller!

Ladies and gentlemen,

I am honoured to welcome you all to the Swedish-Russian Business Forum here in Moscow, and am glad to see so many of you here.

This is an event of great importance and size, probably the largest single event ever organized by Sweden in Moscow. Of course it is my hope that many new fruitful connections will be established between Swedish and Russian companies during these days.

Dear friends, Sweden as a small open economy has always relied on the global market. Our experience shows that competitiveness and growth is linked positively to openness to global markets. Access to markets - exports - is crucial, but it is just as important to open our own markets. Open markets is the only solution in the long run for any country to strengthen the competitiveness at home and further enhance the economy.

The Russian economy has gone through a remarkable development over the past decade. Swedish businesses are learning to handle the special conditions and characteristics of the Russian market. There is an increasing optimism and willingness to invest, especially as the Swedish economy is doing well and the awareness of the strategic importance of the Russian market is spreading. As we know, many obstacles remain and I am worried that the incidents in Estonia and Moscow that last couple of days. It is my hope that there is political determination to overcome these problems.

The trade between our countries is growing fast, over the last three years our bilateral trade has more than doubled. Russia is currently Sweden´s ninth largest source of imports, ahead of countries like Japan and Spain, whereas Sweden is in twelfth place when it comes to direct investments in Russia.

Ladies and gentlemen, at this forum today not only the business sector is represented, but also governments and regions. I believe that this very positive! In order to support business development based on a good legal framework we need to exchange experiences and information between sectors. One of my most important tasks as Minister for Enterprise and Energy, for instance, is to constantly see to it that the regulatory framework is as simple and understandable as possible. As a former entrepreneur myself, I can assure you that complying with regulations is a constant hassle - it takes away not only the fun of being an entrepreneur but also, and more importantly it takes time away from doing business.

Many of the topics on the agenda for this forum is also being discussed in different Swedish-Russian fora. We have an intensive and productive cooperation in many areas. Two weeks ago my colleague Sten Tolgfors, minister for trade, was here for the meeting with the Swedish-Russian steering committee for trade and economic cooperation. Many practical issues were solved, and new areas of cooperation were identified.

All these contacts are, together with the increasing economic exchange and other types of joint activities, bringing our countries closer together. Sweden is proud to participate in the development in Russia today. We hope to continue this positive cooperation, and that our combined efforts will lead to mutual gains.

[Finally before I finish let me remind you about the challenge that we all are facing together - the combat of climate change. It is my firm belief that there is a strong positive relationship between an ambitious climate policy and economic growth. There is an enormous potential for business development and innovations in this field as well as for trade. In order to succeed we need to cooperate - not only between countries but also between politics, industry and the research community. Let's keep this in mind and take the opportunity this event gives us to work together towards a more sustainable future!]

With these words, I wish you a rewarding forum with many fruitful discussions.

Thank you for your attention.