: The India Pavilion at Expo2020 Dubai has surpassed the one million footfalls landmark. The number of visitors to the Pavilion stood at 10,07,514 as on February 13th.
Shri Piyush Goyal, Minister of Commerce & Industry, Consumer Affairs & Food & Public Distribution and Textiles, who had inaugurated the India Pavilion on October 1st last year said in a tweet message, “A million hearts beating out for our billion dreams! It’s a proud moment as the India Pavilion @EXPO2020Dubai marks a new milestone in footfalls. The New India journey has captivated the world #MillionAtIndiaPavilion”
Speaking about the achievement, Shri Sunjay Sudhir, Ambassador of India to the UAE, said, “It’s a matter of great pride and honor as we achieve this key milestone. The India Pavilion has been one of the key attractions at the EXPO2020 Dubai and received great interest from visitors from all over the world. The Expo has given us a great opportunity to showcase India’s prowess in key growth sectors and its vibrant cultural diversity. The India Pavilion is a legacy pavilion, which showcases the synergies, shared vision and complementary strengths of India and the UAE. I am confident that the Expo will not only contribute to the progress of the two countries but also to the larger region and the world.”
With participation from central ministries, state governments, corporates, cultural organizations, and startups, Expo 2020 Dubai is helping the nation explore new areas of collaboration for Indian entities and position itself as a global economic hub. So far, the India Pavilion has witnessed over 800 B2B, G2B and G2G meetings with investors and various international collaborators.
Presently, the India Pavilion is hosting ‘Andhra Pradesh Week’, which was inaugurated on 11th February by Shri Mekapati Goutham Reddy, Minister of Commerce and Information Technology, Government of Andhra Pradesh, along with Dr. Thani Bin Ahmed Al Zeyoudi, UAE Minister of State for Foreign Trade, Dr. Ahmed Albanna, UAE Ambassador to India and Shri Sunjay Sudhir, India Ambassador to the UAE.
Andhra Pradesh is projecting its strong governance, strategic locational advantages, robust infrastructure, thriving industrial and business ecosystem, skilled manpower, and immense potential for growth across key sectors. The state week will also be hosting a plethora of crucial government engagements with industry leaders, business organizations, and one-to-one meetings with an intent to bring more investment to the state in key growth sectors.
The India Pavilion has also hosted many states like Kerala, Goa, Uttar Pradesh, Karnataka, Telangana, Maharashtra, Rajasthan, Madhya Pradesh, Gujarat and UTs of Jammu & Kashmir and Ladakh, who have successfully showcased their lucrative business attractiveness along with rich cultural heritage and have garnered investment opportunities from leading global investors during their participation.
Key sectors such as Health & Wellness, Micro, Small & Medium Enterprises (MSME), New & Renewable Energy, Space, Urban and Rural Development, Oil & Gas, Textile, Knowledge and Learning, and Tourism have held respective weeks to highlight the growth and investment opportunities in these areas.
India Innovation Hub and Elevate pitching sessions for startups, at the India Pavilion is also helping in building on India’s strength as the third-largest incubator of unicorns and has displayed innovations of over 300 Indian startups so far. The platform has captured the attention of Indian as well as global investors assisting the startup ecosystem bloom.
Since its inauguration, the Pavilion has welcomed high-profile visitors including Shri Pinarayi Vijayan, Chief Minister of Kerala, Shri Hardeep Singh Puri, Union Minister for Petroleum & Natural Gas and Minister for Housing & Urban Affairs, Dr. S Jaishankar, Minister of External Affairs, Shri V Muraleedharan, Minister of State for External Affairs and Minister of State for Parliamentary Affairs, Dr. Mansukh Mandaviya, Union Minister of Health and Family Welfare, Chemicals and Fertilizers, Shri Bhupendra Patel, Chief Minister of Gujarat, Shri Rajeev Chandrasekhar, Union Minister of State for Electronics and Information Technology and Minister of State for Skill Development & Entrepreneurship, Shri B.S. Yediyurappa, Former Chief Minister of Karnataka, and India’s Foreign Secretary, Shri. Harsh V Shringla, Dr. K. Sivan, Chairman, Indian Space Research Organisation (ISRO) & Secretary, Department of Space among others.
Shri Narayan Rane, Minister of Micro, Small & Medium Enterprises (MSME), Shri R.K. Singh, Union Minister of Power, New & Renewable Energy, Smt. Darshana V Jardosh, Union Minister of State for Textile & Railways, Shri Bhanu Pratap Singh Verma, Minister of State for MSME and Shri Satish Mahana, Minister for Industrial Development, Government of Uttar Pradesh (UP), along with various other dignitaries joined virtually.
The India Pavilion has also hosted renowned Bollywood celebrities including Ranbir Kapoor, Deepika Padukone, Janhvi Kapoor, Jaaved Jaaferi; singers such as Salim-Sulaiman, Hariharan, Neha Kakkar, Benny Dayal, Jonita Gandhi; Indian tennis star, Sania Mirza and the famous fashion designer, entrepreneur and filmmaker, Manish Malhotra to name a few.
Additionally, the Pavilion has showcased the cultural diversity of the various participating states by displaying their products and cultural performances. Key Indian festivals such as Navratri, Dusshera, Diwali, Christmas, Republic Day and Basant Panchami were celebrated with great fervor by both Indian and global visitors.
India’s participation at Expo2020 Dubai is strengthening the existing bilateral trade relations with the UAE and is bound to unlock new economic opportunities across various sectors for the businesses of the two nations.
In the coming weeks, the India Pavilion will witness participation from states such as Tamil Nadu, Chhattisgarh, Jharkhand, and West Bengal. Key sectors such as Agriculture, Food and Livelihood, Information and Broadcasting, Energy Conservation, Environment & Sustainability, Tribal Affairs will also exhibit their potential and endless collaboration opportunities to the world, at the India Pavilion.
