BAGUIO CITY – The Swedish government recently vowed to extend utmost support to the country’s minerals industry for it to significantly increase its contributions to the economy.
Head of Mission of the Embassy of Sweden in Manila Ambassador herald Fries claimed that their participation to the 70th Annual national amine Safety and Environment Conference of the Philippine Mine Safety and Environment Association (PMSEA) is just the start of partnership with the country’s mineral industry to explore avenues of cooperation and collaboration and elevate the country’s mining industry to a higher level.
At present, mining in the Philippines only contributes 0.5 percent to the gross domestic product while mining in Sweden contributes more than three percent to the country’s economy.
He added that the presence of Swedish companies and the academe is intended to showcase their technology leading to sustainable mining that could be replicated in the Philippines by mining companies interested to practice the same.
‘We are present in full force with the Embassy of Sweden, the academe, and representatives of the Lulea University of Technology,’’ said Ambassador Fries.
The envoy stated that the Swedish government identified responsible mining as one aspect of mining that could serve as an avenue for partnership with the country’s mineral industry, including technological advancement among others beneficial to the retaliation of sustainable development not only in the mining communities but the whole country as well.
According to him, the Swedish government embarked on the use of the Triple helix model that involves the academe, the government and the private sector, leading towards the focus on environmentally and socially responsible mining that significantly contributed to the country’s sustainable development through the past several decades.
For his part, Swedish Trade Commissioner to the Philippines Johan Lennefalk stressed Sweden’s commitment to sustainable and responsible mining and its role in addressing climate change and fostering economic growth.
He noted that Philippines has about one trillion US dollars in mineral deposits and only three percent has mining contracts , thereby, ‘’strong opportunity to develop the mining industry in a sustainable way.’
In October this year, The Embassy of Sweden in Manila and Business Sweden signed a memorandum of understanding (MOU) with the Philippine Mine Safety and Environment Association (PMSEA) to promote safe, environment- friendly and economically-viable mining practices.
Lennefalk pointed out that the Swedish government has an increasingly strong focus on the region of the world, in the Philippines in particular, where Swedish officials had six high level visits to the country.
He emphasized that Sweden remains committed in partnering with the Philippines in its journey in the development towards sustainable and responsible mining.
Currently, Sweden is working on increasing its footprint in the country and that the Swedish government seeks to further engage with the Philippine government, especially in the pursuit of sustainable development.
“Despite the challenges associated with decarbonizing the mining industry, this sector has significantly contributed to the wealth and economic stability of Sweden and we believe it also can for the Philippines, given that there are minerals valued at roughly one trillion US dollars in the ground, but only three percent currently under contracts,” Lennefalk stressed.
The target of Business Sweden’s agreement with PMSEA is partaking and co-arranging exhibitions and forums such as the Annual Mine Safety and Environment Conference to create closer collaboration, thus, Sweden is actually the partner country for the 70th edition of the prestigious gathering among mining industry stakeholders in the country.
Lennefalk said that the Swedish embassy hopes to implement advanced technologies from Sweden in the country, to bring in greener and safer solutions such as promoting decarbonization via electrification and improved connectivity, via 5G, private cellular networks and similar undertakings. By Dexter A. See
