India to showcase space, IT might at Dubai Expo 2020

India will get a permanent place to do business at the World Expo 2020 in Dubai that kicks off next year. The India pavilion, on which the country is spending around Rs 230 crore, will be a permanent structure that will be retained after the expo gets over in April 2021.

India’s trade with the UAE is expected to get a further boost at the Expo 2020, which will also generate employment opportunities and promote tourism between India and other participating countries. The World Expo 2020 opens on October 20, 2020 and closes on April 10, 2021.

The India-UAE bilateral trade, which remained at $180 million in 1970s, has since grown enormously reached to $60 billion in 2018-19. India is now UAE’s largest trading partner and UAE is India’s third-largest.

At the expo, India will showcase its achievements in space, pharmaceuticals, information technology, renewable energy and telecom sectors and also strength in innovation and start-ups.

“India has taken a major pavilion which is strategic in terms of location in the expo. We extend our gratitude to the leadership of India for their vision. Indian Pavilion in Expo 2020 will remain under the government of India possession and will be permanent Pavillion in the UAE.” UAE Ambassador to India Ahmed Albanna -- who will be hosting World Expo 2020, recently said while speaking at an event in New Delhi at an event to promote the Expo.

Commerce and Industry Minister Piyush Goyal had laid the foundation stone of India pavilion late in September. It is being developed on a public-private partnership model and is among the largest country pavilions at the Expo. The construction of the pavilion is spearheaded by public sector National Buildings Construction Corporation Ltd.

Located in Expo’s Opportunity district, the four-storey pavilion will highlight the country’s innovation in the hi-tech sector. Adjacent to the structure will be a life-size image of Mahatma Gandhi along with other displays to commemorate his 150th birth celebration. The pavilion with interiors and curation will be ready in August next year.

Over 2.5 crore visitors are expected at the expo, in which India has got 4,600 sq metre display area, where it will highlight around 30 themes of growth and development, along with the ‘Make in India’ campaign woven around the manufacturing sector.