Recently, Gothenburg Port (Sweden) signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MOU) with the Department of Industry and Trade of Haiphong and Saigon Newport Corporation (SNP) on logistics cooperation.

The event took place on September 6, as part of the Vietnam-Sweden Forum held to celebrate the 55th anniversary of diplomatic relations between Vietnam and Sweden. The event was organized by the Embassy of Vietnam in Sweden in collaboration with the Trade Office and FPT Corporation.

Gothenburg Port is the largest port in the Nordic region, with over 11,000 ship visits annually from more than 140 destinations worldwide. It is Sweden’s only port capable of handling the largest, most modern container ships. Gothenburg processes nearly 30% of Sweden’s foreign trade, handling 39 million tons of goods each year.

This significant event is expected to enhance cooperation to develop logistics services between enterprises and localities from both sides, contributing to increasing Vietnam’s export-import turnover with Sweden in particular and the European region in general. The following is an interview with Mr. Richard Mellgren, Senior Director of Business Development, Sales, and Marketing at Gothenburg Port, discussing this important event.

1. As one of the largest seaports in the Northern Europe, what do you think about the potential that Gothenburg Port would cooperate with Vietnam in this field?

I believe this is a natural step forward considering we’re this year celebrating 55 years of diplomatic relations between Viet Nam and Sweden. As member of the EU, Sweden along with the rest of the EU can enjoy the benefits of our European Union–Vietnam Free Trade Agreement. The Port of Gothenburg plays a vital role in ensuring that transports and logistics can be conducted in a smooth and efficient manner. Viet Nam is developing in a rapid speed and we’re seeing many multinational companies, including Swedish ones, establishing themselves in Viet Nam. It is of utmost importance that we as the Port of Gothenburg can guarantee access to the world for the industry and in turn this means striving to nourish the existing trade routes but also develop new ones in order to enable further commerce between Viet Nam and Sweden.

2. We know that The Port of Gothenburg will sign a Memorandum of Understanding with the Department of Industry and Trade of Hai Phong and Sai Gon Newport. What do you expect from the cooperation between Gothenburg Port with Hai Phong City and Sai Gon Newport in the near future?

By having the Memorandum of Understanding with the Department of Industry and Trade of Hai Phong and Sai Gon Newport, this will hopefully send a more clear message to the market that through collaboration on both sides, our joint intentions are to make the transportation of cargo as efficient as possible and at the same time, ensuring that we continuously take into consideration how we can do it smarter and even more sustainable. There’s a long history on both sides with years of experience and knowledge, together we must cultivate this expertise to ensure that we do what we can to bring value to the parts of the supply chain where we are engaged. Hopefully we can also inspire others to seek further collaboration.

3. With this MOU, in your opinion, how would Viet Nam benefit when exporting to Scandinavian countries in particular and EU in general?

Again coming back to the 55 years of diplomatic relations between Viet Nam and Sweden, having the European Union–Vietnam Free Trade Agreement in place, we have come a good way to prove our intentions of building a good foundation for cooperation. By having partners in Viet Nam and in Sweden, and looking specifically at the Department of Industry and Trade of Hai Phong and Sai Gon Newport along with the Port of Gothenburg in this case, through collaboration, our ambition shall be to create value and confidence that we’re here to support the industry in the supply chain. Building relationships, developing further knowledge and best practice sharing on both sides, shall hopefully create awareness that there’s already collaboration going on and thus lowering the barrier to setting foot on unknown ground. I’d urge Vietnamese companies to make use of the European Union–Vietnam Free Trade Agreement and do reach out to various Trade organization and our organizations for guidance. We’re here to assist the industry.

4. To implement the MOU, what solutions would The Port of Gothenburg develop in the near future?

Here again it’s a matter of cultivating the professionalism that resides within our organizations, developing further understanding of the potentials and communicating our capabilities to the market. We’re living in a very dynamic world, so it’s important that we’re agile and respondent e.g. when it comes sustainability and the environment. As the Port of Gothenburg, we have a long history, we celebrated our 400 year anniversary 2020. We’re offering a diversified range of marine cargo solutions coupled with an extensive rail network, our Railport Scandinavia concept, connecting the port with the Swedish and Norwegian hinterland. Our knowledge base about solutions being requested in the Swedish market is good but it’s vital for us to learn more about the Vietnamese perspective in order to develop our existing and new solutions further.

5. As the largest seaport in Scandinavia area, what would you advice Vietnamese enterprises to increase exports volume to the Scandinavia market?

It’s well known that we’re importing a lot of goods from Asia including Viet Nam, understand your customers here in Scandinavia and what their needs and products are so that you can amongst others benefit from the European Union–Vietnam Free Trade Agreement. There are numerous regulations coming into effect, including the Corporate Sustainability Reporting Directive (CSRD), where companies are required to also document their scope 3 emissions. Be sure that you’re able to offer adequate information. Build relationships, trust, reliability and keep sustainability in mind. The Port of Gothenburg, with a 57% market share of all containers moving in/out of Sweden, is investing heavily in infrastructure to be able to accommodate vessels, port equipment, trains, trucks etc efficiently but also by offering sustainable solutions, e.g. renewable and bio fuels, onshore power, electrical charging and hydrogen stations for heavy trucks. The rail network, Railport Scandinaiva, handles more than 60% of all the containers moving to and from the port, this gives you an advantage of efficiently moving your cargo across all of Sweden.