People visit Pakistan Pavilion at Expo 2020 Dubai.

Jamil Khan, Senior Reporter

The Government of Pakistan's Punjab under the patronage of Chief Minister Punjab Sardar Usman Buzdar is all set to showcase the best the province has to offer at the biggest, global mega-event, the Dubai Expo 2020, with the launch of #PunjabEase.

An initiative by the Chief Minister of Punjab and his team at the Punjab Board of Investment and Trade [PBIT], #PunjabEase aims to present the incredible, multi-layered potential and “ease of doing business” in one of the most captivating regions in the world.

In a press conference hosted by Mian Muhammad Aslam Iqbal, Minister for Industries, Commerce, Investment and Skill Development Department to officially announce the Punjab’s participation at the global mega-event Dubai Expo 2020, with the launch of #PunjabEase.

Highlighting the diverse culture, thriving industries and new business investment opportunities for the global community, #PunjabEase invites the world to experience the province’s wealth in business, tourism, cultural heritage, technological innovations, as well as its natural landscape, traditional ceremonial practices, and historical significance at the Pakistan Pavilion at Dubai Expo 2020.

#PunjabEase at the Pakistan Pavilion will showcase the history, natural beauty, multiculturalism, hospitality, contemporary entertainment and emerging modernity of the province via a series of seminars, concerts, art installations and performances by various departments of the Punjab Government.

Usman Buzdar will also be visiting the Pakistan Pavilion along with a business delegation from Punjab to meet the expat-Pakistani business community as well as investors from the Gulf region and participating countries, additionally hosting an International Business Conference amongst other activities.

Indeed, PBIT is leading the way for the province’s participation at the prestigious event. PBIT’s advance team recently visited Dubai, connected with investors and the diaspora alike to set the tone for the activities to come.

During the visit, Dr Iqbal and her team also met the senior members of Pakistan Association Dubai, Pakistan Business Council Dubai, members of the Pakistani diaspora from the financial, real estate, construction and various other industries, briefing them about the investment opportunities in Punjab and essential participation for the economic uplift of Punjab, Pakistan.

Meanwhile, an industry related to the aerospace sector which employs 23,500 workers, 3,000 researchers, ten great research institute, 5 billion of incomes and 2 billion of exports: this is the system that Regione Lazio, the region which has Rome as capital city, presented at Dubai on Friday during an event involving the most important Italian industries from the aerospace sector.

A unique system in the country, highly innovative and well linked, which goes from the environmental monitoring to precision agriculture, from natural emergencies management to the protection of strategic infrastructures and telehealth. There are many solutions aiming to ameliorate life conditions on our planet, which are granted by Regione Lazio, the Italian region hosting a complete production chain in the aerospace industry sector, that adopt an innovative model in order to interpret the great technological adventure.

All of these were presented at the “Forum Lazio Space Region. From Colleferro Space Capital 2022, the new challenges of the Space economy” with the attendance of representatives of Regione Lazio and some of the most important enterprises in the aerospace and economic sectors, such as Leonardo, Avio and Thales Alenia Space Italia. The event was organised by Lazio Innova, the innovation agency of Lazio (the Italian region whose capital is Rome), which is present at Expo 2020 Dubai with a whole series of events that will be held until next March.

The meeting, of an international nature, started with the presentation of “Colleferro City of Space 2022,” since the city will hold the presidency of the Community of the Cities of Ariane (Cva), the European association of space cities founded in 1988, next year.

The Forum retraced the history of the city of Colleferro which, while being characterised by an industrial vocation, keeps looking to the future with a sustainable-development approach, planned through an urban regeneration program and new opportunities of training in order to attract young talents.

The city is also a historic center of foundation and stronghold of the most important Italian aerospace industry, Avio, where the Vega launcher, an authentic Made in Italy masterpiece, was born. During the presentation, issues related to the activity programs planned for this year under the Italian presidency were addressed, involving the representatives of the Bordeaux metropolitan area, from which Colleferro will receive the baton of the presidency at the end of 2021.

Lazio is the second Italian region by Gross domestic product (Gdp) with 198 billion euros, contributing to 11.2 percent of the Italian national Gdp (2018 data), and its per capita Gdp around 33,600 euros, above the Italian and EU average. Furthermore, Lazio is home to one of the most important research and development systems in Italy, since hosting major industries and multinational groups with their own research and development centers. Lazio, is also the Italian region with the highest level of specialization in manufacturing and services for knowledge-intensive and high-tech. Again, Lazio’s share of exports in the main world sectors is twice the national average (72 percent versus 32 percent).

“Aerospace in Lazio means safety, development, research, quality employment, a future for young people. Our commitment is to enhance this excellence in the area and make it more and more a crucial factor for the sustainable development of our cities and our economy. The new program of European funds 2021-2027 gives us important resources to confirm Lazio as a world-class aerospace excellence. I also like to remember that at the center of today’s meeting there is the city of Colleferro, already a great reality of the regional industrial landscape, which in 2022 will play the important role of European Space Capital,” declares Nicola Zingaretti, President of Regione Lazio.

“Lazio’s aerospace industry is one of the driving sectors for regional economic development, thanks to the presence on the territory of a system of excellence made up of universities and research centers, and an entrepreneurial fabric with a very high level of specialization able to provide technologies and solutions in many areas of the economy, from agriculture, to safety, to the automotive sector. It is a sector on which we focus a lot and in which we will continue to invest, thanks also to the resources of the next Pnrr (Piano nazionale ripresa resilienza - National resilience recovery plan), in order to contribute to scientific and technological progress and to the development of a more sustainable economic model.