An artist’s impression of Indonesia’s pavilion, which will be located in the ‘Opportunity district’ at the Expo 2020 in Dubai. EXPO 2020
Minister of Commerce Pan Sorasak on February 18 announced that he will attend the long-delayed Expo 2020 hosted by Dubai at the invitation of the UAE government.
The minister was speaking at a meeting of the inter-ministerial committee tasked with organising and preparing for Cambodian participation in international exhibitions and trade fairs.
Kicking off on October 1 and lasting until March 31, 2022, Sorasak said the event will showcase products from across the world to about 25 million participants from 200 countries and international organisations.
According to Expo 2020, the event will be under the theme “Connecting Minds, Creating the Future” and will also have three subthemes – “opportunity”, “mobility” and “sustainability” – each with its own “district”.
Sorasak said Cambodia will build a two-storey pavilion – to be designed by Malaysia’s Pico International (M) Sdn Bhd – on 384.5sqm in the “Sustainability district”, adding that the ministry will bring agricultural products to the event.
“To attract the attention of visitors, the committee will finely decorate the [pavilion] with Khmer architecture from across four periods – pre-Angkorian, Angkorian, Longvek-Oudong and Chaktomuk, or today’s era which has Phnom Penh” as the Kingdom’s capital, he said.
Hun Lak, director of Longmate Agriculture Co Ltd, which has invested $32 million in yellow banana plantations on more than 1,000ha in Kampot province’s Chhouk district, told The Post on February 21 that with the private sector’s support, the government and the ministry always bend over backwards to secure markets for the Kingdom’s products, especially those in agriculture.
He affirmed that the ministry will bring those agro-industrial and agro-commercial crops that are flagged for their market potential, pointing out that Cambodia has directly exported fresh bananas to China for more than two years and will soon begin shipping fresh mangoes to the Asian giant.
“The more open the market, the better. This will boost exports and provide better opportunities for investors in the agro-industrial sector,” Lak said.
Cambodia Rice Federation secretary-general Lun Yeng said participation in the event offers an opportunity for the Kingdom to introduce its national wares to the greater international community.
Cambodian netted $62 million in exports to the UAE in 2017 – mainly garments and footwear, while imports were valued at $19.8 million, according to the latest figures from the ministry.
According to Expo 2020, the event was originally scheduled to be held between October 20, 2020 and April 10, 2021.
