Annual Report of the Colombian-Swedish Chamber of Commerce 2011 Annual General Assembly May 30 Th , 2012

Annual Report of the Colombian-Swedish Chamber of Commerce 2011 Annual General Assembly May 30 th , 2012

I. BACKGROUND

The SCCC was created after an initiative proposed by the Embassy of Colombia in Sweden, which was supported by a group of business people and enterprises, as well as other organizations and chambers of commerce. The Chamber started in November 2006 in order to study, enhance and protect the trade and industrial relations between Colombia and Sweden.

The Swedish-Colombian Chamber of Commerce (SCCC) is politically independent, non- profit association of business and organizations who wish to enhance and stimulate trade between Colombian and Sweden.

The chamber works to spread knowledge and experience between the companies and organizations to be able to trade between Colombia and Sweden. The organization is based on members’ own interest in changes and cooperation. Currently, all work is voluntary-based.

II. MEMBERS OF THE BOARD FOR THE TERM 2010 – 2011 AND CONTINUING

At the Annual General Assembly 2010 Mr. Jonas Löttiger (Chairman), Mr. Lars-Erik Alm, Mr. Erik Belfrage and Mr. José Namén were elected as members of the Board of Directors by the members of the Chamber for a period of two years, re-election being permitted.

At the Annual General Assembly that took place 2011, Mr. Anders Larsson was elected as a member of the Board of Directors for a period of two years, re-election being permitted.

Since the Annual General Assembly 2011 the Board of Directors has consisted of 5 members, until 13 February 2012 when Mr. Lars-Erik Alm resigned. Out of the current members of the Board of Directors, Mr. Anders Larsson’s period of election runs for one more year and Mr. José Namén is available for re-election, while Mr. Jonas Löttiger and Mr. Erik Belfrage are not available for re-election. Consequently, since the board must consist of at least three members, one or more new member must be elected at this year’s annual meeting.

It is remarkable to mention that all work by the trustees is unpaid and voluntary. The thanks of the Chamber are extended to the trustees.

The Honorary Members were H.E. Mr. Ambassador Rafael Nieto Navia, Mrs. Patricia Klein Ballesteros (on behalf of the Ambassador), Mr. Alfred Svensson, Mr. Jan Öhrvall and Mrs. Tatiana Caldas-Löttiger. From 15 th of September 2011, H.E. Mr. Ambassador Rafael Nieto Navia was replaced by the new H.E. Mrs. Ambassadress Victoriana Mejía Marulanda and from November 2011,

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Mrs. Patricia Klein Ballesteros was replaced by Mr. Mauricio Acuña, Second Secretary (on behalf of the Ambassadress).

III. ACTIVITIES 2011

The program of activities and events included 3 board meetings, an annual general assembly, and three after works, among other meetings.

February 28 th : Board of Directors Meeting

March 19 th : Board of Directors Meeting

March 23 rd : Webinar about Hydropower . This webinar took place on March 23 between 3pm – 5 pm, Swedish time. Its purpose was to give the participants insight in the hydropower market in Colombia – about projects in the pipe, clients, tender procedures, useful contacts etc. – shortly, the participants received useful information for possible future business with Colombia. It was also possible to ask questions. The participation was free of charge and there were attendants from Sweden, Colombia, Denmark, among others. Lars-Erik Alm, from The Swedish-Colombian Chamber of Commerce in Stockholm, was behind the seminar in collaboration with a competent team from Estudios Técnicos (Bogotá).

April 27th: Meeting with Colombian delegation. By initiative of the German-Colombian Chamber of Commerce (Bogota), a delegation composed of different organizations, institutions and individuals visited Stockholm, with special interests in:

- Partnership institutions, international cooperation for social development projects in Colombia, - water management, public policy for waters and water supply and agriculture production technology - urban development and planning technology, - energy and recycling technology, - legal-environmental subjects, - waste and potable water projects.

May 25th: Annual General Assembly 2011 : The assembly took place at the premises of the Colombian Embassy in Stockholm. Mr. Jonas Löttiger, Chairman of the Chamber, opened the meeting by welcoming the members and establishing that 12 of 19 members were attending. During the meeting, several topics were discussed. One of the most important topics was a future possible cooperation or joint efforts with Chile and Peru. This proposal is still under study and will probably raise many discussions in future meetings. Due to Mrs. Luisa Hugoson Castro’s resignation, a

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new Auditor was elected by the Assembly. The Swedish-Colombian Chamber of Commerce welcomes Mr. Max Juhlin, Project Manager at Skanska, as new member and Auditor. The assembly elected also Mr. Anders Larsson, from Programmeringsbolaget, as new member of the Board. Mr. Larsson was also Meeting Attester.

Other than presenting the Annual, Financial and Auditor’s reports, the members had time to mingle, hear to each other’s success stories and discuss several business opportunities, at the end of the meeting.

June 16 th : SCCC Thursday After Work : The Thursday After Work was launched this day. It is a networking forum and casual business occasion in order to gather members of the Chamber, Swedes and Colombians with interest in sharing experiences, ideas and success stories.

We met at Scandic Anglais and had a great time, we had also the chance to meet new members, plan new activities for the coming fall and enjoy the company of fellow members and the Board of Directors.

September 15 th : Board of Directors Meeting.

September 15 th : SCCC Thursday After Work : This month’s Thursday after work was again held at the Scandic Anglais and was a great opportunity for our members as well as members of the board to meet up and participate in discussions in regards to personal business and just to get re aquainted with fellow members after the summer season. This month’s after work also brought out our new intern from Amsterdam who also gave his outtake on the after work and what he thought of our ideas.

October 20th: SCCC Thursday After Work

November 15th: “SAAB, Building a safer Latin America” Seminar : We had the pleasure of presenting SWECA’s next event, extended to our members, which took place on Tuesday, November 15th, at 17.00 in the offices of the Swedish Trade Council, Klarabergsviadukten 70. Speaker: Mr. Bo Torrestedt – Head of Region Latin America, SAAB AB. Subject: “SAAB – Building a safer Latin America”. SWECA hosted a reception with wine and snacks after the speech in the offices of the Swedish Trade Council.

November 23rd: 5th year of Operations Commemoration Anniversary: The Swedish-Colombian Chamber of Commerce celebrated its commemoration of 5 years in Stockholm on the 23rd of November, 2011 in conjunction with the Embassy of Colombia. We took this time not only to celebrate the anniversary of our 5th year of operations, but we were also able

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to increase knowledge about Colombia and create awareness of the great things the country can offer.

Other - Mr. Anders Larsson, Mr. José Namén and Mr. Jan Örhvall represented SCCC at the commemoration of the independence day of Colombia, organized by the Colombian Embassy at Millesgården, on July 19 th.

- A farewell present was handed out by SCCC to Mr. Rafael Nieto Navia at the farewell reception hosted at the Colombian Residence.

- A farewell present was handed out by SCCC to Mrs. Patricia Klein for all her years of cooperation to the Chamber.

IV. INTER-INSTITUTIONAL RELATIONS

The SCCC worked and sought out actively and systematically during 2011 and even during 2012, contacts and alliances with important public and private institutions both in Sweden and Colombia in order to pool resources and capacities to ensure a greater impact. These alliances and partnerships have supported SCCC’s institutional development which at the same time can benefit our members. Most of the representatives of these institutions are very approachable, well connected individuals who are willing to share their expertise and know-how with our members.

The results with each of these institutions are:

- Colombian-Nordic Chamber of Commerce in Bogotá: Official strategic partner.

- Swedish Ministry of Foreign Affairs: Active close contact. Keep our members updated on the latest regulations and negotiations on treaties between the EU and Colombia.

- Swedish Trade Council (Exportrådet ): Have agreed to include the SCCC in their events and network.

- Swedfund: Active contact. Have agreed organize joint seminars for Swedfund and SCCC members, arrange private meetings between Swedfund and members. Waiting for members to present their inquiries.

- Stockholm Chamber of Commerce: Under discussion with the Director of the International department. Main goal is to participate in their activities in order to expand our network and perhaps get their support when holding conferences, having delegations and other events.

- SWECA (Under discussion): Active contact. The aim is to provide join forces to promote Latin America as a region with diversity and variety of business opportunities.

- Proexport Germany: Active contact. We have their support with material and information.

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- SIDA: Active contact. Main goal is to provide our members with direct contact when their expertise is wanted from our members.

- Latinamerikagruppen (Swedish Latin American Network): Establish contact and network with government institutions (Exportkreditnämnden, Svensk Exportkredit, Invest Sweden, etc) and other partners with interest in Latin America.

- Swedish Embassy in Colombia : Main goal is to provide our members with direct contact when their expertise is wanted from our members.

- German-Colombian Chamber of Commerce : Joint event together (April 2011).

V. TRAINEESHIP 2011

The intention of the Swedish-Colombian Chamber of Commerce is to attract talented individuals with interest and knowledge in Colombia and Sweden and an international environment, with proficiency in Spanish, Swedish and English, who could help us with administrative work, such as coordination of seminars, social events, and other activities. The trainees were not remunerated. A farewell lunch was offered by the Board to the trainees.

During Spring 2011, SCCC’s trainees were:

- Lesly González: Student at Creative Service Leadership School in Malmö. Lesly’s main functions were to organize the administrative parts as well as planning of events and activities within the organization.

- Xiomara Romero: Public Relations Student at the University of Örebro and recent member of the Swedish-Colombian Chamber of Commerce, Xiomara joined us as Trainee since the beginning of May 2011. Her traineeship period covered 5-weeks and the main purpose was to contribute with ideas, actions and activities regarding our media and communication efforts, update some of the sections in our homepage and help us to reach out current and future members, among other tasks.

Fall 2011:

- Jonas Johansson: From the Hogeschool van Amsterdam in the Netherlands, Jonas interned with the SCCC for the 2011-2012 period as a mandatory part of his program before writing his thesis and completing his degree. Jona’s mainly dealt with project management for events planning and coordination as well as research development. He also assisted the chamber and members of the board with many areas of business optimization and networking. In addition to the chamber, Jonas was working in partnership with the Embassy and assisting with various administrative tasks

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VI. SCCC PREMISES

SCCC has been able to use the premises of Colombian Embassy, as workplace for the Trainees as well as for meeting and other events, without any charge for, incurring in no renting costs during this year. The Colombian Embassy deserves the thanks of this Chamber for its valuable support and cooperation.

VII. MEMBERS

By the end of the year 2011, there were 28 members in total: 8 corporate members, 16 private members and 4 honorary members.

Corporate Members Representative

1. Eversheds Advokatbyrå AB Mr. Jonas Bratt & Mr. Jonas Löttiger 2. Ekman & Quiroga International Consulting Mrs. Maria Eugenia Quiroga 3. Skanska LA Mr. Ricardo Villarreal 4. LM ERICSSON (PRENAX) Mr. Ulf Pehrsson 5. NIR Mrs. Erica Molin & Mrs. Pia Schultz 6. Nordcell AB Mr. Christer Bengtsson Mr. Anders Larsson and Mrs. Soraya 7. IDEACT Grisales 8. SAAB AB Mr. Bo Torrestedt

Private Members 1. Student Carlos Gutiérrez 2. Mrs. Cristina Stjernberg 3. Mr. Harald Molander 4. Mr. Mathias Jonsson 5. Mr. Max Juhlin 6. Mrs. Natalia Petterson-Bustamante 7. Mrs. Nathalie Aldana 8. Mr. Per Borgvald 9. Mr. José Namén 10. Mrs. Soraya Melander 11. Student Xiomara Romero 12. Student Lesly González 13. Mr. Henrik Blennow 14. Mr. Lars-Erik Alm 15. Mrs. Luisa Hugoson Castro 16. Mrs. Juliana Örtenholm

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Honorary Members 1. Mr. Rafael Nieto Navia replaced by Mrs. Victoriana Mejía Marulanda 2. Mr. Jan Örhvall 3. Mr. Alfred Svenson 4. Mrs. Tatiana Caldas-Löttiger

VIII. MEMBERSHIP FEES

The membership fees for 2011 remained unchanged:

100 SEK for students 500 SEK for private members 1 500 SEK for small companies and 5 000 SEK for large companies.