ZAGREB, July 30, 2018 - Croatia has selected and signed a rental agreement for a pavilion at the EXPO 2020 fair in Dubai which will be held between 1 October 2020 and 10 April 2021, the Tourism Ministry said in a press release on Monday.
The pavilion will be used by Croatian business people for promotional purposes at the fair which expects more than 180 countries, the ministry said.
The rental agreement was signed in Dubai last week in the presence of EXPO 2020 Dubai executive director Najeeb Al Ali and Croatia's Deputy Commissioner General for EXPO 2020 at the Ministry of Tourism.
Croatia's pavilion was chosen in line with the fair's concept, mobility, which, along with sustainability and opportunity, is one of the three main themes for EXPO 2020 under the motto – Connecting Minds, Creating the Future.
Tourism Minister Gari Cappelli has announced that a call for submissions would be advertised in the autumn for a design concept for Croatia's pavilion as well as a call for Croatian business people to participate and promote Croatia and its economy at the fair.
"EXPO 2020 in Dubai is an opportunity for the entire country to be promoted, not just its tourism, to strengthen the competitive position of our country through trade and economic cooperation, promoting culture, history and tourism. In my capacity as minister and president of the Croatian National Tourist Board, that is a huge challenge because EXPO is more than just tourism. It is about branding the entire country. That will be a huge opportunity to present everything our country has to 180 countries in the world and 25 million visitors – the best innovative projects, ideas, inventions and creative individuals as well as Croatia's tourism potential on the Middle East market," Minister Cappelli said, as carried by the press release.
Earlier, he met with Emirates Minister of State and Managing Director for the Dubai World Expo 2020, Reem Al Hashimy, who on that occasion expressed her pleasure with Croatia's participation at the expo. She welcomed the opening of a Croatian Consulate General in Dubai by the end of this year, underlining that that was a strong political message by Croatia toward the United Arab Emirates, the press release concluded.
