Andreas Carlson, Sweden’s minister for infrastructure and housing, and Swedish banker and head of the Wallenberg Sphere Marcus Wallenberg, quietly flew into town last week to reaffirm Sweden’s continuing support for the Philippines and to strengthen Sweden’s commitment to long-term collaborations, focusing on sustainable development and digitalization.
Minister Carlson is leading the Swedish government’s efforts in transport, infrastructure, community planning and housing, while Mr. Wallenberg is a prominent Swedish business leader and a member of the influential Wallenberg family who regularly visits the country and personally knows all of the country’s top business families and leaders.
The Wallenberg Sphere spans various sectors, including banking, industry and research. Some of the most important holdings in the Philippines are ABB, AstraZeneca, Atlas Copco, Electrolux, Epiroc, Ericsson, Husqvarna, Nasdaq, Saab AB and SKF. It is Mr. Wallenberg’s second visit to Manila this year.
Minister Carlson and Mr. Wallenberg met with Finance Secretary Ralph Recto and participated in the signing of a Memorandum of Understanding between Sweden and the Philippines on export financing and development cooperation. The MOU will enable Swedish grants and export credits for projects in the Philippines.
In a statement from the Swedish Embassy, Minister Carlson assured that “Sweden is committed to further increasing its bilateral relationship with the Philippines, not least given the government’s Focus Asia strategy. The economic and strategic links between our regions are undeniable. The signing of this Memorandum of Understanding on export financing represents yet another step in the deepening of cooperation between Sweden and the Philippines.”
In response, Secretary Recto was quoted as saying, “I am proud to take our collaboration to the next level. We entered another agreement that will enhance the economic security of Filipinos through increased access to Swedish financing for our development initiatives. With this partnership, the Philippines will have a greater opportunity to invest in more projects that matter most to our people. With this broad range of development areas, Sweden is certainly one of the Philippines’ strongest poverty-fighting allies, helping us build an inclusive economy for our citizens.”
During their short and quiet visit, Minister Carlson and Mr. Wallenberg also held talks with Acting Trade Secretary Ma. Cristina Roque to explore trade and investment partnerships between the two countries. Both sides expressed strong support for the recently re-started negotiations on a free trade agreement between the EU and the Philippines.
Minister Carlson and Mr. Wallenberg also took time to discuss regional security issues and cooperation in the defense sector with Senior Undersecretary Irineo Espino of the Department of National Defense. Sweden is among the countries hoping to supply the Philippines with fighter jet aircraft. It is competing with offers from the US and South Korea.
Minister Carlson and Mr. Wallenberg also met with several business leaders in the country to explore partnerships in areas such as transportation, digitalization, health and responsible mining.
The Swedish Minister and Mr. Wallenberg were accompanied by a business delegation representing various other Swedish companies. Business Sweden is the trade and investment council of Sweden, with operations in more than 40 markets globally. It is jointly owned by the Swedish government and the private sector, and it has a unique mandate to help Swedish companies grow global sales and international companies invest and expand in Sweden.
Minister Carlson also paid a visit to Secretary Ivan Uy of the Department of Information and Communication Technology and discussed possibilities for cooperation on digitalization in the Philippines.
Sweden has had diplomatic relations with the Philippines since 1947. The Swedish Embassy’s main task is to represent Sweden in the Philippines and to strengthen the relations between the two countries. Its focus is on promoting trade and investment and building partnerships, including in security policy.
Holiday madness has begun
While preparations for the traditional Christmas and New Year season start as soon as the ber months begin, Filipinos who are very well known for tardiness do not actually start buying their gifts for the annual gift-giving during Christmas Day until the 30-day countdown to Dec. 24 to 25 begins.
And as predictable as we are, the holiday madness picks up in the last four weeks before the actual Christmas get-together, after which the different families fly off to spend the noisy and smoke-filled New Year’s celebration out of town, normally to the beach or abroad.
Knowing this, but still having an important task to buy some stuff and hoping that the final rush would be worse in the last two weekends before Christmas, hubby and I made the unfortunate decision to try to go to the mall on a Saturday, before dinner, to make that purchase that just could not wait.
Long story short, we battled through two-hour traffic to get to the mall just to spend almost 20 minutes, the allowable free time before the mall imposes the minimum parking fee, trying to find a free parking spot, only to give up and leave since everybody seems to have also made the same desperate choice to take their chance, even as the security personnel warned that it was already “waiting” inside the packed parking area.
We, thus, ended up spending another hour driving away from the shopping area to look for a stand-alone restaurant to eat and rest from the stress of the traffic and the parking hunt.
It is clear that shopping mall owners still do not adequately allot enough parking space for their customers. Based on my own experience, only the two big malls in the Manila Bay area have the space to provide adequate parking.
The holiday madness is upon us, and the next 30 days will surely test our patience. Thankfully, for those who are semi-retired or are working from home, the best time to do your shopping is during weekdays, specifically during the working hours of 11 a.m. to 4 p.m. when the malls are nearly empty.
Interestingly though, a lot of shops are still offering sales so close to Christmas just to boost their sales.