On February 26, 2025, the ASEAN Committee in Stockholm (ACS) had a working session with Ms. Camilla Mellander, Director-General for Trade Policy, Ministry for Foreign Affairs of Sweden to discuss economic and trade relations between ASEAN and Sweden as well as to learn about Sweden's trade policy direction in the coming time.

On behalf of ACS, Vietnamese Ambassador Tran Van Tuan introduced to Ms. C. Mellander basic information about the ASEAN region as well as economic relations between ASEAN and the EU in general and Sweden in particular, emphasizing that countries in the region all support free trade policies and are ready to welcome Swedish businesses to invest and do business in many fields.

Recognizing and appreciating the development potential of ASEAN, Ms. C. Mellander affirmed that in the context of the current volatile international situation and global trade activities, the EU and Sweden are in great need of stable and open partners for cooperation, and ASEAN is one of them. Ms. C. Mellander said that, in addition to the two countries in the bloc that have free trade agreements (FTAs) with the EU, Singapore and Viet Nam, the EU is promoting negotiations to establish FTAs with four other ASEAN countries: Indonesia, Malaysia, the Philippines, Thailand, and Sweden strongly supports this process. In the coming time, Sweden will keep pursuing the policy of free and open trade, anti-protectionism, focusing on digital transformation, green transition, and innovation. Countries in the Indo-Pacific region, including ASEAN, will be at the center of Sweden's economic and trade development cooperation.

At the meeting, Ms. C. Mellander also answered many questions from ASEAN Ambassadors on issues of mutual concern./.