India sets sights on multi-billion trade deals at Expo 2020 Dubai
Federation of Indian Chambers of Commerce and Industry is already working to schedule trade and industry meetings
India is gearing up to generate multi-billion investment proposals from UAE and other major countries across the world during the World Expo 2020 in Dubai, commencing October next year.
India’s apex industry chamber, the Federation of Indian Chambers of Commerce and Industry (FICCI), the industry partner to Indian government for Expo 2020 Dubai, is already working to schedule bilateral, tri-lateral and multi-lateral trade and industry meetings with the participating countries.
As many as 190 countries are expected to attend the mega event in Dubai, commencing from October next year for a 6-month period.
“We are in touch with many countries participating in the World Expo 2020 for organising their bilateral visits to India,” said Vinay Mathur, Advisor, FICCI.
“We are also working on organising trilateral meetings jointly with UAE with several African countries during the Expo for generating trade and investment opportunities,” Mathur added.
FICCI officials said they are also working on organising visits by senior dignitaries and delegations from several countries to the Indian pavilion during the expo.
India has been allotted a legacy pavilion – a permanent exhibition space which India can use to host non-commercial events round the year ,even after the Expo 2020 is over. Construction of the Indian pavilion has already started, with the Indian commerce minister Piyush Goyal attending the brick laying function in Dubai at the weekend.
India’s state-owned construction firm, National Buildings Construction Corporation Ltd (NBCC), will build the Indian pavilion.
A budget of $32 million has been allocated to cover the cost of construction, as well as the interior, curation and maintenance of the pavilion, which minister Piyush Goyal said would be the second largest pavilion at the Expo 2020 Dubai.
Goyal also said India expects many as 25 million people to visit the Indian pavilion during the Expo.
The cost for the Indian pavilion is expected to be covered by Indian companies, either through a participation fee or event sponsorship.
The 4,000 sq metre display area of the Indian pavilion will have two sections – section A will entirely be a thematically curated area showcasing evolution of India’s achievements in various fields such as space technology, engineering, renewable energy, food processing, government policies, innovations and start-ups, while section B will be dedicated for the exposition.
Leading Indian companies from all states are expected to attend the Expo at Dubai, FICCI officials said.
The Indian minister, who also attended the 7th meeting of the UAE-India High-Level Joint Task Force on Investments in Abu Dhabi, led a delegation of senior representatives from the Indian Government to discuss investment opportunities for the UAE in several important sectors, including oil and gas, civil aviation, construction, food processing, renewable energy, infrastructure and shipping.