The attached white paper broadly describes how DrawingML is different from Scalable Vector Graphics (SVG) in terms of design goals, target audience and the problem areas intended to address.  This paper hopes to raise the level of awareness and education of “Why DrawingML cannot be merged with SVG”

In Open XML file format, DrawingML is a specialized markup language which specifies the location and appearance of the drawing Object in Office Open XML documents. The drawing objects can be shape, picture, table etc.

The DrawingML format is a newer and richer format created with the goal of eventually replacing any uses of VML in the Office Open XML formats.

Scalable Vector Graphics (SVG) is an XML specification and file format for describing two-dimensional vector graphics, both static and animated. It allows three types of graphic objects: vector graphic shapes (e.g., paths consisting of straight lines and curves), images and text.

SVG, which is primarily used in Web development, offers more limited feature for drawing object compared to DrawingML. If office applications were to use SVG they will be restricted by the limited features available in SVG.