Economic Development Minister Simon Bridges has announced that the Government will spend $53 million to showcase New Zealand at Expo 2020 in Dubai, in an attempt to boost trade in the region and beyond.
Expo 2020 will contain three thematic areas: opportunity, sustainability and mobility – and New Zealand has been invited to participate in the sustainability precinct.
Bridges said the New Zealand pavilion would allow Kiwi businesses to highlight their innovative products and services and open doors to new export markets. The last New Zealand display at an international Expo was in Shanghai 10 years ago.
Dubai is part of the United Arab Emirates (UAE), which has been one of the fastest growing markets of the past decade. New Zealand is close to completing a free trade agreement with the Gulf Co-operation Council (GCC), which includes Bahrain, Kuwait, Qatar, Oman, Saudi Arabia and the UAE.
The Dubai organisers expect about 180 nations to participate and New Zealand is among the first to confirm attendance.
New Zealand has strong air connections with Dubai through Emirates’ daily flights from Auckland and Christchurch. Qatar Airways has also begun daily flights from Auckland to Doha, across the Gulf from Dubai.
International Expos trace their origins back to the Great Exhibition in Crystal Palace, London in 1851. Countries show off their goods and services, usually in distinctive and elaborate pavilions designed to impress. Visit http://expo2020dubai.ae/#expoDubai2020 for more information.
