Sajjad Ahmad, Deputy Business Editor

President of Maldives  Ibrahim Mohamed Solih said on Tuesday that Maldives is experiencing a new wave of growth as the country’s economy makes a remarkable recovery from the effects of the pandemic.

The president said this in his keynote address at the Maldives Investment Forum, held to coincide with the Maldives Honour Day at Expo 2020 Dubai. The event graced by President Ibrahim Mohamed Solih was also attended by the Minister of Economic Development Fayyaz Ismail, the Minister of Tourism Dr Abdulla Mausoom and the Minister of National Planning, Housing and Infrastructure Mohamed Aslam.

In the keynote address, the President highlighted some of the key areas of development in the Maldives and the concrete steps his government is taking to develop the country’s investment climate. New islands for tourist resort development were launched in the event and the president invited investors to join in the transformational journey of the Maldives. The President also highlighted the Maldives’ bold target to achieve Net Zero Emissions by 2030 and emphasied the priority given by his government for promoting renewable energy and low carbon development.

In his address, the Minister of Economic Development, Fayyaz Ismail looked at the impressive economic growth of the Maldives, espoused by the liberal policies and statutory environment of the country that provide incentives that facilitate business and commerce. The Minister also referred to some of the key development projects being undertaken by the country, including the expansion and development of the international airport and the relocation of the country’s main commercial harbour in Male’, which would facilitate the growing trade volumes and the rapid growth of tourism, business and commerce. The Minister also outlined the strategic development priorities of the Government to achieve economic decentralisation and diversification. Minister Fayyaz highlighted the Government’s plans to introduce unique investment opportunities in private islands and tourism real estate for the first time in the Maldives.

The minister of tourism looked at the special characteristics that nature has endowed upon the Maldives. The minister highlighted the current expansionary direction for the industry, which not only takes into consideration the preservation of the sublime beauty and the delicate natural environment of the Maldives, but diversification of the industry to offer a richer broader experience for visitors, which would also encompass a broad array of experiences in addition to the rich culture and heritage of the Maldives. We aspire to establish Maldives as a destination for corporate conferencing and there is immense potential to introduce activities such as cruise tourism, wellness tourism and nautical tourism, the Minister stated in his address to the forum.

The Maldives Investment Forum held to promote foreign direct investment to the country and showcase the immense potential of the Maldives as an attractive destination to the international investment community was attended by dignitaries from the Emirati Chambers of Commerce and participants from the private sector from the Maldives, the UAE and the region.

Minister of National Planning, Housing and Infrastructure Mohamed Aslam said that we are improving our infrastructure and launching new projects to accelerate the overall economic growth in the country.  Fayyaz Ismail said,” The UAE-Maldives trade relations are very strong and we see the Expo 2020 Dubai is a big opportunity to boost our trade ties with every country and showcase our products to the global visitors and investors. We are showcasing the beauty of our country at Expo to the world and hopeful to attract more tourists and investment to.”

Dr Abdulla Mausoom said,” As a tourism destination, we welcome visitors across the world. The UAE is very close to Maldives in term of connectivity and we are receiving  a big chunk of visitors from here. We have just finalised an MoU with Emirates and hope it will give a new boost to tourism sector. Out of the one million tourists this year, we received 170 thousand through Emirates. We will be holding a tourism investment forum in January and real estate forum in February-March at Expo 2020.”

Mohamed Aslam concluded, “We are very happy to be a part of Expo,  we are looking forward to some fruitful business and investment dialogues during the event. We are ready to welcome  more investors in our various sector and introducing new incentives to facilitate them.”

Brazil pavilion clocks 200,000 visitors: Brazil Pavilion spread over 4,000 Sq.m in the Sustainability District of Expo 2020 Dubai has registered a robust visitor flow attracted to the Latin American country’s presentation of immersive experience of biodiversity and business potential.

In a statement, the Brazilian Export and Investment Promotion Agency (Apex-Brasil), said the pavilion has clocked over 200,000 visitors in less than a month ever since the opening of the Expo 2020 Dubai on October 1, 2021. Apex-Brasil is the nodal agency managing the country’s participation at the Expo.

“It has been a hectic time for us with a mix of business and leisure visitors attracted to what we have laid out at the pavilion. From what we could gauge from visitor responses, the experience they had at our pavilion was unique and stunning,” said Raphael Nascimento, Pavilion Director for Brazil at Expo 2020 Dubai.

A four-member family from London, UK, visiting the Expo marked the 200,000 visitor record at the pavilion. The family joined the celebration with the pavilion director and staff members. “We got surprised and felt extremely happy to be part of this celebration. We are also happy to receive a goodie bag with some good gifts from the pavilion,” the mother from the family quipped.

One of the main themes of the Brazil Pavilion is biodiversity which the country has highlighted to communicate the conservation endeavors of the country and commitment to environment and climate change mitigation.

On the business front, Brazil is also offering potential opportunities in investment and trade across key verticals such as food, travel and tourism. “We have had healthy inquiries from the business community in the region for partnerships and these early leads indicate a fruitful participation ahead,” added Nascimento.

The Brazil pavilion built at an investment of $20 million weaves aesthetics and architecture to offer a rich experience. The pavilion uses 140 giant projectors to project video images of Brazilian forests, rivers, urban centres, food and culture on translucent membranes on the pavilion’s interiors.

The pavilion which evokes the experience of Amazon rainforest in Dubai has a shallow water blade occupying across half of its area.

The Brazilian pavilion will be part of this last thematic axis, reaffirming the importance of biodiversity, culture of environmental preservation, competitiveness based on sustainability and the portrait of Brazilian multiculturalism.

Expo Dubai 2020 represents a singular moment of promotion of Brazilian diversity and an opportunity to tell the world of its unique features. The event is linked to the efforts of Apex-Brazil in the commercial promotion of agribusiness, innovative technologies, as well as the construction of an economically attractive country image and a natural destination for foreign investments. It will also contribute to reinforcing the regional, gastronomic and ethnic multiplicity and immigration diversity of Brazil.

Apex-Brazil is responsible for building the pavilion and organizing the Brazilian participation at Expo Dubai. In 2015, the agency organized the Brazilian participation at Expo Milano and, in 2010, at the Expo Shanghai.