Sweden-Southeast Asia business summit has to face cancellation due to coronavirus outbreak. The event, supposedly held in Singapore on February 13-14, 2020, was undergoing thorough considerations before finally meeting cancellation.
Among the considerations was the Singaporean health authorities’ announcement upgrading the coronavirus outbreak to Code Orange. Accordingly, the code is the second highest level.
Based on Singaporean Ministry of Health’s categorization, to acquire Code Orange, a disease should belong to a disease that is severe and spread easily from person to person. However, the disease is not spreading wildly to Singapore yet.
Furthermore, the disease is moderately disturbing the daily life. The disruption, for instance, requires quarantine, temperature screening, visitor restrictions at hospital, and so forth.
Considering the potentially damaging impact, the organizer of the event, Team Sweden in Southeast Asia by the Embassy of Sweden, Business Sweden and the Swedish Chamber of Commerce in Singapore, decided to cancel the event. However, whether this is a postponement or cancellation remains uncertain.
“In consultation with the Swedish Ministry for Foreign Affairs, Business Sweden and local counterparts we have concluded that cancelling the ‘Summit’ is the correct decision at this juncture as the health and well-being of our participants is our top priority,” the event website stated.
“Over the course of the last few days, it has also become clear that a number of our main speakers would cancel their participation.”
Also Read: Apple Closes Down Chinese Office After Coronavirus
The Cancelled Sweden-Southeast Asia Business Summit due to Coronavirus Outbreak
The Sweden-Southeast Asia Business Summit is a bi-annual business conference between various parties from both Sweden and Southeast Asia.
If it were not due to coronavirus, Sweden and Southeast Asia would conduct the summit in early February. The preceding two events of the conference were in Singapore and Kuala Lumpur, 2016 and 2018 respectively.
The cancellation of the event is surely devastating for various sides, specifically Southeast Asian businesses. It is a promising platform for businesses in the region to exchange partnerships and share visions regarding the future.
Aside from the event, there are also other events facing the indifferent demise. Of those, there are the World Association of Newspapers and News Publishers’ inaugural Asian Media Leaders Summit, American Chamber of Commerce’s Asia Pacific Business Summit, and Asia Pacific Investor Conference.
Also Read: The Economic Impact of Coronavirus On China Could Be Worse Than SARS, Reports Say
