On
Friday, October 1st – and one year late, due to the Covid-19
pandemic – Expo-2020 Dubai opened to the public. The event, which ends on March
31, 2022, is the first mega-event since the start of the pandemic in early
2020. Expo Dubai brings together, for 182 days, more than 200 participants from
192 countries, including Mozambique, as well as multilateral organizations,
companies and educational establishments.Mozambique’s Commissioner-General at
Expo 2020 Dubai has been working for nearly two years on the country’s
participation in the event. In an interview with ‘Noticias’, Miguel Mkaima said
he hoped that Expo Dubai would boost the country’s cultural, social and
economic development by attracting new investments.Mozambique takes to
Expo-2020 the theme “Respect for Nature, the Best Legacy for Generations to
Come”, and the national pavilion is framed in the sub-theme “Sustainability”,
whose contents cover matters related to the four priorities of the government:
agriculture, infrastructure, energy and tourism. “Our pavilion’s focus is on
disseminating the real image of the Mozambican people, their wealth and
potential for the environment they have,” said Nkaima
As Expo Dubai is one of the
most important world events and an international fair that brings together
different sectors, what are Mozambique’s ambitions by participating in it?
“Mozambique’s participation
in Expo 2020 Dubai aims to promote and publicise the country’s good image,
exchange innovative ideas to face current challenges, ensure the establishment
of new partnerships in the economic, social, cultural and technical-scientific
areas. We also intend to attract more investments, ensuring the transfer of
technology to areas where Mozambique has competitive and comparative advantage,
such as agriculture, infrastructure, energy, culture and tourism. Obviously, we
will not neglect the need to promote cultural, social, economic, scientific and
technological development for the sake of peace, progress and development of
humanity.
What is intended then, in
practice, is to make Mozambique known to the world?
“Yes. Mozambique will take
advantage of the event to make itself known to the world, above all, in its way
of thinking and promoting the country’s development. Therefore, the event is an
opportunity for us to make new friends, partners, foreign investors. The
country invested with everything it has to make its participation in the Expo a
success. An event like this entails costs not only for the organizers, but also
for the participants. Do you believe that ExpoDubai can bring returns to our
country?
“The earnings will be high
and we are fully hopeful that Expo participants will welcome Mozambican
presentations on issues such as the environment and business opportunities, as
well as on investment needs in the areas of agriculture, industry, among
others. The benefits of the Expo are not immediate, as universal exhibitions
are a platform for exchanging experiences and innovative ideas for the benefit
of economic, social, cultural and scientific development aimed at future
generations. Returns should be seen as a short, medium and long term.
Therefore, returns must match the country’s development plan. We will spread
the real, positive image of peace and development in Mozambique to millions of
people who will come to our pavilion. The return we aim is for us to be able to
attract more investments in the economic, social, cultural and
technical-scientific areas. We also intend to establish partnerships and
strengthen the bonds of friendship and cooperation between Mozambique and the
various countries present at the event.
Showcase the best in the
world’s biggest showcase
The General Commissioner of Mozambique at Expo-2020 Dubai, Miguel Mkaima believes that the fact that the country is participating in the universal exhibition allows it to be “in the biggest showcase in the world”, so the delegation’s objective is to reap the greatest possible dividends in the event, exposing its full potential.
What does Mozambique propose
to present in this exhibition?
“Mozambique will exhibit the
best it has. The focus of the country’s pavilion is the dissemination of the
real image of the Mozambican people, their wealth and environmental potential.
We intend the pavilion to be interactive, implementing substantive thematic
itineraries with a view to providing visitors with virtual and multimedia trips
based on new information and communication technologies and with territorial
and environmental referencing, highlighting the economic, social, cultural and
tourist aspects of our parents. Among the activities to be developed, we
highlight the sale of products with an artistic, cultural, touristic or
gastronomic impact from Mozambique in our pavilion throughout the six months of
the Expo. There will also be a participation of the Mozambican business sector
in seminars, debates and colloquiums around the theme of the fair and on
business and investment opportunities for the country, in addition to the
promotion of artistic and cultural activities within the scope of the National
Day of Mozambique at Expo 2020 Dubai.
How will Mozambican business
participate in the world mega-event?
“In general, companies carry
the largest volume of Mozambican products with an impact on our trade balance. We
have long since launched the dissemination of Mozambique’s presence at Expo
2020, at a national level, involving all provinces so that we can ensure
greater participation in the event. At the moment, we have about ten government
sectors that presented concrete and structural projects to be sold at the Expo,
in search of interested investor partners. In general, these are projects in
four sectors that we carry out, namely, infrastructure, agriculture, energy and
tourism, which are ‘the flag’ of Mozambique. But that is not to say that other
sectors are not participating.
What were the selection
criteria?
“The sectors that we’re
bringing were chosen based on the actions defined by the government as being
priorities for the present five-year period: agriculture, infrastructure,
energy and tourism. As I mentioned, the central theme of Expo 2020 Dubai is
“Connecting Minds, Creating the Future”. This theme also privileges
connectivity, partnership and collaboration between nations and international
organizations in the search and identification of sustainable solutions to the
planet’s global problems. Thus, is an event that aims to boost cultural,
social, economic, scientific and technological development for the sake of
peace, progress and development of humanity. The theme is structured around
three sub-themes, namely, Opportunity, Mobility and Sustainability. The
government approved the framing of the Mozambique Pavilion at Expo within the
‘Sustainability’ sub-theme, taking into account that it practically covers
matters related to the four priority actions: agriculture, infrastructure,
energy and tourism.
Lack of resources limits
larger gains
The General Commissioner for
Expo Dubai also spoke of the constraints on Mozambique’s participation in this
event, considering that this fact will limit the possibility of the country
having greater gains in the universal exhibition.
What are the main challenges
faced in the process of organising Mozambique’s participation?
“The great constraint is the
fact that the country is poor in terms of financial resources. A project to
participate in an event like Expo Dubai always brings with it financial needs,
because one thing is what we write in our plans and another is its
implementation, based on the financial conditions of each participant. I
confess that we are not able to financially meet the requirements of all
activities during the Expo, which is one of the major constraints. It is in
this context that many national participants will pay for their round trip and
stay in the UAE. The entire technical team of the Commissariat-General of
Mozambique at Expo is already in Dubai.
About Expo 2020 Dubai
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