Namibia to participate in Dubai Expo

Francoise Steynberg

Namibia will participate in the Dubai Expo, which will take place over a period of six months and expects to attract some 24 million visitors.

The Dubai Expo 2020 has been postponed by a year due to the coronavirus outbreak and will now be held from 1 October 2021 to 31 March 2022.

The six-month, multibillion-dollar global innovation fair is set to be the largest event ever staged in the Arab world.

The theme will be ‘Connecting Minds, Creating the Future’, while the sub-themes are ‘Opportunity, Mobility and Sustainability’.

According to Tunga Mboti, deputy director of investment promotion of the Namibia Investment Centre in the ministry of industrialisation and trade, Namibia’s theme at the expo will be ‘Preserving and Utilising Natural Treasures for Future Generations: The Opportunity of a Lifetime’.

“The term ‘natural treasures’ was selected to describe the wide range of treasurable resources Namibia has been blessed with – from energy and ecology to people and culture,” Mboti said.

She said all of these resources are true treasures to the nation that must be preserved, nurtured and sustained.

“As a growing nation with big ambitions for economic transformation, Namibia has the opportunity of a lifetime to set an example for the world of how development can be pursued in a sustainable matter by utilising these treasures responsibly and innovatively.”

Namibia has participated in several world expos, such as in Lisbon, Portugal; Hanover, Germany; Zaragoza, Spain, and Shanghai, China.

NAMIBIAN PAVILION

According to Mboti, the Namibian Pavillion at the Dubai Expo aims to display the Land of the Brave’s natural treasures to the world, such as its suitable climate for renewable energy, unique landscapes, abundant wildlife, marine diamonds and minerals, as well as diverse cultural heritage.

She said five sub-sectors will be promoted during the expo, namely renewable energy, mining, tourism (culture), education (e-learning and innovation) as well as trade and investment (manufacturing, Blue Economy, health, logistics and agriculture).

The goals of the Namibian Pavilion are to:

Showcase renewable energy investment opportunities

Promote environmental conservation and sustainable tourism

Promote value addition opportunities in the mining sector

Attract foreign direct investment for infrastructure and manufacturing

Position Namibia as a gateway to the Africa market.

BENEFITS

“The Dubai Expo assisted Namibia in building the Namibian Pavilion,” Mboti said.

According to her, Namibia’s participation will drive benefits to the country in several areas, such as:

- Enhancing awareness of the country’s national brand

- Having a positive impact on the country’s international economic outlook by investors

- Attracting foreign investment in the energy, tourism, mining, infrastructure and manufacturing sectors, which will then create jobs and boost the economy

- Having a positive effect on the number of tourist arrivals in the country

- Leading to an increase in exports of Namibian products by creating new markets.

- Leading to an increase in the use of Namibian ports

- Establishing partnership in research, innovation and information and communication technology.

INCENTIVES

Mboti said Namibian companies interested to sell and promote their products at the Dubai Expo are welcome to, and the ministry of industrialisation and trade, with its partners, has agreed to assist with the following incentives:

- Shipping cost to and from Dubai

- Storage cost in Dubai

- Retail space in Dubai

- Facilitation of import and export permits

- Facilitation of entry visas

- Facilitation of insurance

- Promotion and advertisement of products before and during the six-month duration of the expo,

- B2B meeting facilitation.

On the interest Namibian companies have shown in participating, Mboti said “the interest from the private sector has been overwhelming”.

She could not provide an estimate of the expenses of the Dubai Expo, “as it will be in next year’s financial budget”.

Mboti emphasised that 192 countries will participate in the expo, and said all member countries of the South African Development Community (SADC) will also take part.

Meanwhile, the African Union (AU) will have an AU Pavilion.

“At the end of the Dubai Expo, Namibia aims to leave a memorable legacy in the minds of the pavilion visitors that will attract them to visit Namibia as tourists. We also expect to facilitate business joint ventures, secure foreign direct investment for projects as well as create a demand for Namibian products,” Mboti said.

For more information on the Dubai Expo, phone 061 283 7335/55, email [email protected] or visit the Namibia Expo Dubai 2020 page on Facebook.

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