Sri Lanka becomes officially approved participant of world’s largest exhibition – World Expo 2020 Dubai
Sri Lanka’s Export Development Board (EDB) has reportedly announced that Sri Lanka is now officially an approved participant at the World Expo 2020 Dubai, known as the world’s largest exhibition.
The announcement was made following the signing of the Official Participation Contract with the “Dubai Expo 2020 Bureau” by the Sri Lankan government authorities last week.
According to reports, the World Expo 2020 Dubai is expected to welcome an anticipated 25 million visits over the course of 173 days from October 2020, and will be the largest event ever to be held in the Middle East.
The Export Development Board has announced that the high level delegation to the UAE for the Contract signing Ceremony held on 8th July 2019 was led by Sri Lanka’s Deputy Minister of Development Strategies and International Trade, Nalin Bandara. Chairperson and Chief Executive, Sri Lanka Export Development Board, Indira Malwatte as the Commissioner General for Sri Lanka of Expo 2020 Dubai, had signed the Official Participation Contract on behalf of Sri Lanka with Najeeb Mohammed Al-Ali, Executive Director of Dubai Expo 2020 Bureau in the presence of the Sri Lankan Deputy Minister of Development Strategy and International Trade.
On the sidelines of the Contract signing ceremony, the delegation had reportedly visited the Expo Site and the Sri Lankan delegates were able to visit the Sri Lankan Pavilion as well which is under construction.
The delegation had also taken the opportunity to meet with Expo Technical Teams to discuss specific activities and obtained clarifications relating to Sri Lanka’s participation at EXPO Dubai.
Najeeb Ali welcoming the Sri Lankan delegation had briefed on the extent of the progress of the construction and arrangements for hosting Expo Dubai 2020 and that 192 countries have already confirmed participation.
Deputy Minister Bandara speaking had appreciated the support given by the UAE Government for Sri Lanka to have an Assisted Pavilion and explained that Sri Lanka looks for further collaborations in future.
According to the EDB, Sri Lanka’s pavilion will be organized in a Public Private Partnership model under the “Water” theme which has been designed by the students of Moratuwa University.
OSL take:
Sri Lanka’s manufacture and export sectors have been recording a continuous growth in the past few months. In fact official statistics of the Sri Lankan government has indicated a shrinking in the trade deficit owning to the growth in exports. Sri Lankan exports have been benefited by the many trade agreements and trade concessions with many foreign countries; key among them is the EU GSP Plus and US GSP facilities. Sri Lanka’s geographical positioning in the Indian Ocean has always supported Sri Lanka’s growth in key economic sectors. The government of Sri Lanka has also taken many steps to develop the country’s exports sector. In this backdrop, Sri Lanka’s participation in the Expo Dubai 2020 will provide the country with further exposure to boost the country’s export sector. Foreign businesses/investors could explore business/investment opportunities in Sri Lanka’s exports sector.
| Article Code : | VBS/AT/22072019/Z_3 |