Visitors queue up to enter Pakistan’s pavilion at the Expo 2020 Dubai.

Inayat-ur-Rahman, Business Editor

The Pakistan Pavilion at Expo 2020 Dubai received half a million visitors in only 75 days since its opening. Its journey to this milestone has been very exciting, with around 100 business and thematic events and daily cultural performances representing the different regions of Pakistan.

 The Pakistan Pavilion has welcomed another 50,000 visitors in only seven more days. Over the 82 days of being live, while the pavilion received visits from the Pakistani diaspora and many UAE residents, the majority of the visitors were from the international community.

 A visitor from Mexico said, “I really loved the experience, it felt very immersive and the pavilion showcases everything Pakistan has to offer in terms of tourism as well as industry. It was really interesting and it makes me want to go to Pakistan one day.”

Another visitor from Spain said, “The facade is an epitome of modernity and impeccable architecture, the interior of the pavilion is a reflection of diverse traditions and cultures, it was a beautiful experience and I really want to visit Pakistan now.”
Film star Mahira Khan during her visit to Pakistan Pavilion.

Located in the heart of Opportunity District, the pavilion’s theme aims at informing, inspiring, and igniting more conversations about the country’s ‘Hidden Treasures.’ The pavilion has been attracting thousands of people from various nationalities daily is promoting the country’s tolerant, inclusive and progressive image by featuring the past, present, and future. It also highlights the beautiful landscapes, tourism, and trade & investment opportunities.

In December, the Pakistan Pavilion launched a new tourism campaign through an engaging AI interactive screen for interested visitors to connect with tour operators in Pakistan to plan their visits to the country.

Pakistan has immense potential for tourism. While inaugurating the Skardu Airport, Prime Minister Imran Khan remarked that Pakistan can attract at least $30-40 billion from tourism just in Gilgit-Baltistan. With the government’s focus on the development of tourism infrastructure in the country and promotional efforts at the Pakistan Pavilion Expo 2020 Dubai, the number of foreign tourists to Pakistan is expected to rise significantly in the coming years.

Colombia: Colombia displayed a variety of events by the country’s skilled entrepreneurs and apprentices at Expo 2020 Dubai from December 19 to 24 under the theme ‘Diversity of Talents.’ As part of its ongoing efforts to promote culture, innovation, and talents, SENA the National Training Service, a state institution responsible for work skills development, attended the global gathering with a team of entrepreneurs, apprentices and instructors to facilitate intercultural exchange and explore partnership opportunities with international markets.

The global collaboration is part of SENA’s efforts to promote projects that highlight its institutional capacity and services in education, employment and entrepreneurship to businesses participating at Expo 2020. Apprentices who are part of the SENA delegation demonstrated their advanced skills at the nations pavilion. Two baristas and a cook delighted visitors with traditional food prepared in innovative ways, while four event students assisted with the logistics of the presentations.

The five ventures who assisted included a training and skills development provider to the oil sector’s workforce, a zero-waste fashion brand, and an entrepreneur focusing on engineering, mining, construction, and agriculture projects using drones and other innovative technologies, a music band and a coffee producer. These entrepreneurs are supported by SENA’s Fondo Emprender, the biggest fund hub in Latin America, also extended support to these entrepreneurs as part of the initiative to create almost 2,000 new businesses and generate around 8,000 jobs nationwide.
A family poses for a photo during visit to Pakistan Pavilion at Expo 2020.

Carlos Mario Estrada Molina, General Director, SENA, said: “At this great event, we will show the world the creative capacity of the talents that we train and support. The talents are equipped with world-class technical knowledge, digital skills, and soft skills that are required by different economic sectors to successfully face the disruptive challenges generated by the Fourth Industrial Revolution.”

SENA’s presence at the Expo 2020 was also aimed to reach international companies interested in employing Colombian workforce and those keen on hiring locals once they open their operations in Colombia. More than 700 Colombians have obtained jobs in Germany, Canada, Mexico, Spain, and Saudi Arabia through the Public Employment Agency, which facilitates international services for overseas employment.

Highlighting at the Expo its history and achievements for more than 60 years, SENA seeks to strengthen its education, employment, and entrepreneurship services through global collaborations. Its programs, aligned with the highest international standards, have attracted allies, including Google, Amazon Web Services, LinkedIn, Bosch, and Renault. The forged partnerships with the global giants have led to international exchanges for apprentices and instructors, collaborative designing of academic curriculums, and enhanced technological equipment for training centers.

 Colombia is known for many things, and its warm and talented people are among those. Through its presence in the most significant global gathering, the country continuously puts the spotlight on its investment opportunities, strong market, rich product portfolio, and skilled and professional labor workforce.

The world is now hailing the vision and courage demonstrated by the leadership of Dubai and the UAE at this special time facing all the challenges and turning the challenges as blessings. About 3 to 5 percent of people visiting Expo 2020 is expected revisiting Dubai or planning to make Dubai their residence post the Expo.

In 1851 the Crystal Palace was the centrepiece of London’s Great Exhibition – the first World Expo. It celebrated the man-made industrial wonders of a rapidly changing world. Architecture, contents and a theme, ‘Industry of All Nations’, were combined to create a big idea of nations meeting nations in shared technological and commercial progress. In more recent years, participants in World Expos, including governments, international organisations and companies, have gathered to find solutions to universal challenges and to promote their achievements, products, ideas, innovations, their national brand, and their nations as destinations for tourism, trade and investment.

World Expos are held under the auspices of the Bureau International des Expositions (BIE), the intergovernmental organisation responsible for overseeing and regulating international exhibitions (‘Expos’) and for fostering their core values of Education, Innovation and Cooperation. Today, four types of Expos are organised under the BIE’s auspices: World Expos, Specialised Expos, Horticultural Expos and the Triennale di Milano.