By Dipo Olowookere
The Republic of Slovenia is announced as the latest nation to officially sign up to Expo 2020 Dubai in exchange of letters at the Dubai Chamber of Commerce.
UAE Minister of Economy, Sultan Al Mansouri, met with the Mr Zdravko Počivalšek, Slovenian Minister of Economic Development and Technology, on Thursday for an exchange of letters to officially confirm Slovenia’s commitment to participate in Expo 2020 Dubai.
UAE Minister of State for International Cooperation, Mrs Reem Al Hashimy and Director General Bureau Expo Dubai 2020 said: “I am delighted that Slovenia has confirmed its participation so early in the process. We look forward to working closely with Slovenia throughout the journey to Expo 2020, collaborating on a great global showcase and forging a lasting economic legacy of closer cooperation.”
Slovenia enjoys long-standing ties and increasingly strong economic relations with the UAE. Minister Počivalšek, said that today’s meeting sets “the foundation for our cooperation over the next four years. Signing this letter of intent is an important step.”
As one of the earliest nations to sign up to participate in Expo 2020 Dubai, Slovenia will now begin the process of designing its national pavilion for the mega event, which is expected to attract 25 million visitors.
Hosting the World Expo will leave an economic legacy for the UAE. Expo 2020 Dubai is forecast to have a significant beneficial impact on the UAE economy, generating more than 17 billion Euros in gross value added, and supporting over 250,000 jobs. 20 per cent of Expo 2020 Dubai’s budget – comprising AED 5 billion (1.2 billion Euros) – will be allocated to SMEs as part of existing efforts to enhance SME integration into the Expo 2020 Dubai supply chain.
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