Editor's Note: Nils Eric Svensson, business development manager for Region Skåne, was tragically injured late Tuesday night, April 21, in an accident on the streets of Savannah.  He died near midnight at the Memorial University Medical Center. He was making his fifth trip to coastal Georgia, this time for the SACC-USA Edays conference. The GlobalGeorgia staff offers our sincerest condolences for the loss of a friend, colleague and business partner who welcomed us with the warmest hospitality during a recent trip to Sweden.  

For most of the 20th century, the city of Malmö, Sweden, was defined by its proximity to the sea.

The city had a wharf industry that employed a large proportion of its workforce building massive oil and liquefied natural gas tankers, sending them out to fuel the world's large economies.

The shipbuilding industry soon moved to Asia, however, and Malmö was left with a severe depression.

But the city has reinvented itself to become a knowledge-based economy, which should make representatives from Savannah and other Georgia cities take note, said Nils Eric Svensson, an economic developer in Skåne, the southernmost region of Sweden, where Malmö is the capital.

GlobalAtlanta interviewed Mr. Svensson during a recent trip to Sweden to provide special coverage of companies visiting Savannah April 20-22 for the Swedish-American Chamber of Commerce's Entrepreneurial Days conference.

Mr. Svensson is business development manager for Region Skåne, a local economic development organization. At eDays, he hopes to find partners for local companies and possibly attract U.S. firms to begin operations in Skåne.

Click here to read the full story or watch the videos above to learn about Skåne’s strengths in biotechnology, logistics, clean technology and sustainability.

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