Swedesurvey is a well known name throughout the world; we have a thirty-year history of successful project implementation in almost seventy countries. As one of our partners once said, "Wherever I travel in the world, everyone I come across speaks well of Swedesurvey – how come?". As a company in a small town far away in Sweden with only 13 employees, it is a relevant question.  

Personally I think it depends on a couple of things. First and foremost, Swedesurvey has focused on human resource development which has included lots of different training programmes conducted in Gävle. These have forged strong relations with Sweden and maybe even stronger personal relationships between the participants and the lecturers and experts from Swedesurvey.

Secondly we have, together with the experts from Lantmäteriet, the Swedish mapping, cadastral and land registration authority, contributed to the implementation of many successful projects over the years. Our work, with questions of land and surveying/mapping, in these projects has contributed considerably to sustainable development in many countries.

After seven months as Managing Director of Swedesurvey, I am now even more convinced, than when I started in this position, that the company has an important role to play. Swedesurvey's mission, on behalf of the Swedish Government, is to operate as an international consultancy company in the fields of surveying, mapping, cadastre and land registration The company's focus on land governance, NSDI and human resource development contributes to the development of society in the countries where we operate.

To ethically and properly manage land issues is of great importance to sustainable development. True sustainable development, i.e. sustainability, from both environmental and social and economic development perspectives, requires that land issues are handled responsibly. In this field, Sweden has a strong global position and Swedesurvey makes an important contribution to sustainable development.