CAIRO: A delegation of Egyptian textile industry insiders visited Sweden earlier this month to explore opportunities for bilateral cooperation in the field. The visit is one of the initiatives launched by the Swedish Embassy in Cairo and the Swedish Trade Council to enhance trade relations between the two countries, the embassy said in a statement. Hammam Abdel Khalek, representative of the Arab Development Company, said the group got to network with their Swedish counterparts. “We made very interesting contacts with the Swedish side, which should lead to concrete business in the near future" Speaking at the Egyptian-Swedish Textile Seminar in Gothenburg, Swedish Minister of Trade Ewa Björling said she saw great potential for bilateral trade relations. “I believe international trade has an important role to play in these challenging times. For Sweden, free trade is cornerstone of our foreign and trade policy,” she said. “Swedish prosperity is built on international trade and the ability of our companies to compete on global markets,” she added. More than 40 experts and entrepreneurs from the Swedish and Egyptian textile sector gathered from February 16-17 in Gothenburg to explore ways to collaborate and open new a market for the Egyptian cotton and ready-made garments, according to the statement. Participants took field visits to Swedish department stores like Nordstan Shopping Center and Nordiska Kompaniet (NK), to get an idea of the standards of the local market. They visited Borås, the textile hub of Sweden with half of the country's textile production, where they met importers as well as fashion companies and textile organizations. "I was really impressed by the high capacity that the Egyptian companies show in the textile field," said Ingrid Lang, representative of Prima Salto in Sweden.
