Expo 2020 Dubai to give new impetus to Guinea, says Minister

The Expo 2020 Dubai will give a new impetus to Guinea by providing a strong platform to strengthen relationship with the UAE, said Gabriel Curtis, Guinea’s Minister of Investments and Public-Private Partnerships, in an exclusive interview with Khaleej Times.

Around 370 delegates representing 173 of the Expo’s 190-plus participating countries assembled for the sixth International Participants Meeting (IPM) at the Dubai Exhibition Centre, as well as those who attended it virtually, reinforced that point and said that they were committed to a World Expo that will unify, excite and inspire.

Curtis said: “The Guinean pavilion is titled “tap into the source of West Africa” and should be ready by June 2021. Total investment for the pavilion is estimated at total $2 million which has used sustainable materials to ensure zero carbon emission. The nation will deploy 12 people at Expo city for six months.”

Guinea’s current focus in on energy, agro industry and infrastructure and these core pillars will deepen their ties with the UAE. “In terms of innovation, we want to develop sectors such as health, mobility, mobile money, mobile transactions, ecommerce and agriculture,” said Curtis. The improvement of the mobile internet penetration rate from 40 per cent to 65 per cent has placed Guinea among the top 5 African countries.

The nation anticipates to record a growth of 5.6 per cent in 2021against six per cent in 2020, despite the challenges faced due to impact of Covid-19 outbreak.

So far, Guinea has reported 23,000 cases anad 145 reported death in hospitals. “We have vaccinated over 100,000 people and the goal is to vaccinate a million people within the next three months. The situation seems to be under control, but we are very prudent,” added Curtis.

— sandhya@khaleejtimes.com