SPCC celebrating 10 years of trade and investments between Scandinavia and Poland

This year was marked with the 10th anniversary of Scandinavian-Polish Chamber of Commerce with a record number of chamber representatives, corporate members and partners participating in the SPCC 10th Anniversary Debate. The event took place on December 4th at the Muranów Conference Center, unique, modern & prestigious venue in Warsaw, with links to Polish-Nordic cooperation: designed by Finnish architect - Rainer Mahlamaki, the Center operates with the support of the Norwegian grants.

The evening opened Carsten Nilsen, SPCC Chairman with comments on the strong ties Scandinavia has with Poland, the importance of the SPCC network and emphasizing the significant impact SPCC has had on Scandinavian–Polish business relations. He also gave his insights into the report “Scandinavian companies in the Polish landscape” prepared along with PwC, which was officially announced that day and is summarizing the success of Scandinavian business in Poland & their biggest investments.

Anniversary Debate was attended by Mr. Hallador Asgrimsson, Prime Minister of Iceland in 2004-2006 and the Secretary General of the Nordic Council in 2007. The Prime Minister in his presentation focused on the process of transformation of the Polish economy, the challenges which brings current situation and membership in the European Union.

The Polish transgression theme: from the image of country struggling with problems of post-communist past until being stable economy, attracting the Scandinavian investors, was widely discussed by Mr Per Hammarlund, Chief Strategist, SEB EM, in the presentation of "Poland in 1989 and 2014: Poles Apart".

The evening was an excellent opportunity for a debate about the changes that have taken place in Poland over the last ten years, seen through the eyes of Scandinavian investors and what was their role in the process. The Anniversary Debate, led by the expert in Scandinavia related issues - Mr. Michal Kobosko, attended by Mrs. Evelyn Higler, CEO, IKEA Retail Poland, HE Hanna Lehtinen, Ambassador of Finland, Ms. Joanna PalosPakos, CFO, Member of the Board of Volvo Poland, Mr Per Hammarlund, Chief Strategist, SEB EM, HE Staffan Herrstrom, Ambassador of Sweden, H. E. Steen Hommel, Ambassador of Denmark, H. E. Karsten Klepsvik, Ambassador of Norway, and Mr. Carsten Nielsen, SPCC Chariman, was an excellent opportunity to exchange experiences gathered by Scandinavian investors over the last decade in Poland.

The cultural highlight of the evening was a piano recital by Leszek Możdżer, an outstanding pianist, composer and producer, who is widely considered to be the greatest revelation of the Polish jazz of the last decade and who has gathered an enthusiastic applause.

The SPCC 10th Anniversary Debate with the standing dinner reception at the end, was attended by over 300 invited guests, including ambassadors of the Nordic countries, presidents and directors of member companies, representatives of  the Polish government, regional authorities, representatives of other bilateral chamber of commerce, key business organizations and other prominent guests. 

SPCC would like to thank everyone for taking part in yet another successful event and for celebrating the organization´s 10th anniversary together with us! SPCC looks forward to continuing its collaboration with its fellow chamber representatives, corporate members and partners, and hopes to see everyone next year! A special thank you to all our Anniversary Partners including: IKEA Retail Poland, Eltel Networks, SEB, Volvo Polska & reception Partners: Dobre Wina & SAS.