African nations are attending this year’s Dubai Expo 2020 in force, intending to project the image of a modern and ambitious continent and shed stereotypes of conflict and underdevelopment.
The six-month mega-event, delayed by the Covid pandemic, is a milestone for the wealthy Gulf emirate which has spent some $8.2 billion transforming a barren stretch on the outskirts of the city into an eye-popping site bristling with high-tech pavilions.
As the huge project nears completion ahead of the scheduled October 2021 opening, African delegates touted their ambitions to generate trade and investment at a high-level meeting this week.
AU’s head of strategic partnerships Levi Uche Madueke said with nearly all African states represented for the first time, Expo provides a stage to advertise a “continent that is ready to move forward.
Madueke said despite the need to develop infrastructure and the existing barriers to international trade, Africa has a lot to offer thanks to its rich natural resources and youthful population.
He added that the time had come for the Continent to reach out to the world, and for the world to understand and collaborate with it.
Since the first World Expo was held in London in 1851, global fairs have been used to showcase innovations and as a branding exercise for participating countries.
And in its quest to gain influence on the international scene, the United Arab Emirates has increased its political and economic presence in Africa in recent years, particularly in the eastern Horn.
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