With a commitment to provide US$48 million in aid this year, Sweden has become one of the leading donors to Vietnam, according to James Donovan, the first secretary in charge of economics at the Swedish Embassy to Vietnam.

Mr Donovan said nearly 40 percent of co-operation projects with Vietnam related to natural resources and rural development. Last year, Sweden implemented two poverty reduction programmes. The first one focussed on forest and land management in Ha Giang, Yen Bai and Quang Tri provinces, while the second one helped improve environmental and land management.

Another key development co-operation between Sweden and Vietnam is public administration as it is very important for Vietnam while the country moves towards a market economy.

Public health is also a Swedish priority with 15 percent of co-operation projects related to this field.

I met Janne Petersson Winroth during his recent visit to Vietnam with his family. He had worked for Swedish Radio station for many years, and later co-ordinated with Radio the Voice of Vietnam (VOV) for more than 10 years to support local radio in the framework of a project called "Continued support to local radio in Vietnam" funded by the Swedish International Development Co-operation Agency (SIDA) from 1994-2004.

In the early 90s, together with other Swedish trainers, he traveled went across the country to study ways to expand co-operation and help Vietnamese radio further develop. He introduced modern techniques and helped 30 local radio stations around the country start live broadcasting. From that, he helped establish close co-ordination between VOV and local radio stations. The project helped VOV and local radio stations further develop as well as improve the quality of technicians, producers and managers.

Talking about the future of radio broadcasting he said: "There will be a convergence between different kinds of media, which means that radio and TV will melt into one another. I think in the future it will be difficult to say what is TV and what is radio as they will be closely linked, like the Internet and websites."

During the past 10 years, he has visited Vietnam 40 times. He traveled across the country from north to south and good experiences about its land and peope have remained fresh in his mind. He said Vietnam is like a second homeland for his family, particularly since he and his wife have adopted two Vietnamese children.

They accepted two Vietnamese little babies when they were just nine and seven weeks old. Now Kim is 15 and Markus 13. Both of them also love Vietnam and sometimes accompany their parents to visit the country.

His wife, Ingrid Peterson Winroth is a typical Swedish woman. Because of her husband’s love of Vietnam, she also has close attachment to the country. Sometimes she comes to Vietnam together with her husband and children. She said she does not want their children to forget their native country and wants them to keep in contact with the country as much as possible.

"I really want them to develop relations with Vietnam because this is their first country," said Ms Ingrid. This is her way to love their children

"I am very fond of Vietnam as people are very friendly and the landscapes are very beautiful, " she said. "This time, I feel very happy to see many positive changes in the country."

Thanks to their parents’ feeling for Vietnam, the two children love their first country too. Kim, the older sister, has visited Vietnam five or six times, and seen different places of interest in the country. But she said she likes Hanoi the most as it has many stores and the people are very friendly.

Although he is now working for Swedish Television and the SIDA-funded live broadcasting project is finished, Mr Jane said he hopes to further co-operate with VOV. He added that he will keep contact with VOV managers to find a way for further support from Sweden.

Asked about VOVNews online, Mr Janne said, "I think the website is quite good. I read it in English of course because I do not know Vietnamese. I am an expert on the Internet and I think it is clear, simple and easy for visitors to use. I think it’s quite good at the moment."

Vietnam Day in Sweden was launched at the Hilton Stockholm hotel in Sweden on Monday with the participation of Vietnamese Deputy Prime Minister Vu Khoan and 150 officials, businesspeople, journalists and artists from Vietnam. Around six tonnes of goods were also brought to Sweden.

The event is a vivid manifestation of joint efforts to further promote close co-operation between Vietnam and Sweden.

Situated in northern Europe, Sweden was the first western nation to recognise and establish diplomatic ties with Vietnam. Since then, bilateral ties have been constantly consolidated in all fields including politics, economics, culture and social affairs.

Vietnam Day in Sweden featured diverse activities such as introducing investment and tourism opportunities, cuisine arts and traditional and modern cultural features of Vietnam. Regarding the significance of the day, Head of the Department of Europe 2 from the Vietnamese Foreign Ministry Nguyen Manh Dzung said: "This event presents a good chance to introduce the culture, cuisine, arts, music, dancing and fashion of Vietnam.’’

Vietnam Day in Sweden was initiated and sponsored by the Kinnevic-Comvik group of Sweden, which has operated in Vietnam for a long time.

Addressing a press briefing to launch the event, President of Comvik International Vietnam AB Company Mr Zaman stated: "I am very happy to bring a part of Vietnam to our country since my first visit to Vietnam in 1990. Vietnam Day in Sweden is an event of great significance to boost economic and cultural ties and exchanges between the two peoples. Activities for Vietnam Day in Sweden were held in Stockholm City Hall where the annual ceremony to grant Nobel Prizes take place. The Stockholm Hilton Hotel is also the venue for other major event launches and festivals of the Swedish people.

A special cultural exchange will take place at Stockholm City Hall with the participation of the Vietnamese delegation and Swedish senior officials. Vietnamese pop singers My Linh, Cam Van, and saxophonist Tran Manh Tuan will present traditional songs. In addition, Vietnamese designers Si Hoang and Ngan An will display 24 clothes of ethnic minorities, a collection of traditional dresses (ao dai) and six Swedish costumes. Swedish designer Urika Ulstrom will also present her designs on Vietnam’s traditional costumes.

A workshop on investment opportunities in Vietnam will also be held during the event with the participation of nearly 300 businesses.

A culinary festival, which was directed by a Vietnamese expert Hoang Anh, was also held in Stockholm Hilton to serve more than 500 guests.

During the day, an exhibition displaying 29 paintings by Vietnamese artist Nguyen Hai Chi will be also held at the Hall. The paintings will be auctioned later and the proceedings will go to a new fund for young Vietnamese talented artists.

The organisers hoped that the event will bring a significant positive change in the economic, tourism, and investment relations between the two countries.

Vietnam Day in Sweden kicked off in Stockholm on Monday with the participation of nearly 150 Vietnamese officials, businesspeople, journalists and artists. The event is considered a catalyst for economic co-operation and cultural exchange between the two countries.

Deputy Prime Minister Vu Khoan, who heads the Vietnamese delegation to the festival, said with its great potential for investment and trade, Sweden is always a high priority in Vietnam’s co-operative international relations. Sweden is a leading industrialised country whose per capita income is among the world’s highest.

Sweden was also one of the first countries to grant official development assistance (ODA) to Vietnam, even while the latter was still under trade embargoes. To date, Sweden has granted US$2.6 billion worth of ODA capital (non-refundable aid) to Vietnam. It has also invested US$455 million in 11 projects in the country. Two-way trade turnover also increased considerably from US$121.4 million in 1998 to US$201.8 million in 2003 and US$107 million in the first half of 2004.

Vietnam imports industrial equipment from Sweden while exporting garments, footwear, handicrafts, woodwork and agro-products to the Scandinavian country.

Mr Khoan hoped that Sweden Day will be held in Vietnam and the two events will take place annually in the two countries.

In an interview granted to Saigon Times Weekly, director of the event, Jeffrey Jones said Vietnam Day aims to create a setting for Vietnamese and Swedish businesspeople to meet and find matters of common interest that will lead to co-operation. Swedish businesspeople are able to survey investment opportunities in Vietnam while Vietnamese businesspeople can seek to export their products to Sweden. In addition, Swedish people can gain a deeper insight into Vietnamese culture and Vietnam can take the advantage of the event to lure more Swedish tourists.

A workshop on investment opportunities in Vietnam will be held during the event where Vietnam’s potential for investment and its business policies will be discussed.

A special cultural exchange will take place at Stockholm City Hall – the venue for the annual Nobel Prize awards ceremony. Vietnamese pop singers Hong Nhung, My Linh and Cam Van and dancers group Bong Sen will present traditional songs and dances.

A two-week exhibition displaying 33 paintings by Vietnamese artists will be also held at the Hall. The paintings will be auctioned later and the proceedings will go to a new fund for young Vietnamese talented artists.

Mr Jones hoped that the event will be held in other countries in the near future to make Vietnam better known to the world.

Vietnam’s anti-corruption efforts, strategies for Swedish development Co-operation with Vietnam, legal reform developments and measures to protect the environment will be some of the issues on the agenda of the Swedish International Development Agency (SIDA) Director General Maria Norrfalk during her four-day working visit to Vietnam, beginning November 3, 2004.

She will meet with representatives of the Government of Vietnam to exchange views on the promotion of Swedish development assistance to Vietnam and meet Vietnamese media at a press conference in Hanoi on November 4, 2004.