Pakistan is a land of opportunities: Dawood

Pakistan is all set to showcase its investment and tourism potential at Expo 2020 Dubai through a series of events during the six-month exhibition, its top official says.

Abdul Razak Dawood, advisor to the Prime Minister for Commerce and lnvestment, said the country will promote its soft image at the Expo while showcasing rich art, culture, heritage and industry during a 30-minute walk inside the pavilion that is divided into eight key spaces.

“Pakistan will present itself as a land of opportunities for tourism, commerce and investment. Expo is a great opportunity to show our immense potential to the world,” Dawood told Khaleej Times during an interview.

Unique design, ideal location

Pakistan pavilion — The Hidden Treasure — is covering an area of 35,000 square feet at an ideal location. It is the largest-ever pavilion constructed outside of the country.

“We have constructed a state-of-the-art pavilion at a very good location in Opportunity District. The pavilion will attract investors and tourists to Pakistan because of its unique design,” Dawood said.

“With an inviting façade that will change colours in the day and night and an immersive walk through experience, the pavilion is expected to attract majority of an estimated 25 million global audiences at the exhibition,” he said.

He said many cultural events and business seminars will be organised at the multi-purpose halls of the pavilion.

“It was a huge challenge to use thousands of individual aluminium units of different sizes and colour to design the facade of the pavilion. However, the design team did manage it to create an optical illusion for visitors as they walk by the unique structure,” the advisor said.

Dawood attributed the credit to the artist Rashid Rana for building a multicoloured structure representing Pakistan’s culture, pleasant weather and history. He also lauded the efforts of principal curator Noorjehan Bilgrami for designing the ‘inner journey’ of the pavilion.

Digitising visitor data

In reply to a question how to digitise the visitor data at the pavilion, the advisor said it is a daunting task but efforts are on to achieve the targets.

“We will offer one-stop facility to the potential visitors and investors who are willing to explore tourism landscape and investment options in the country,” he said.

He said Pakistani diplomats across the globe will arrange visits of investors and tourists to Expo 2020 Dubai to make it a huge success.

“All Pakistani ambassadors and diplomats will organise tours from respective countries to Dubai during the six-month long exhibition,” he said.

Developing IT industry

Dawood said Pakistan’s IT industry recorded remarkable growth during the last financial year by posting record $2 billion exports for the first time in 75 years history of the country.

“We have been building up a startup ecosystem to promote IT industry in the country. IT exports are likely to surge by 50 per cent during the current financial year and may cross $3 billion by June,” he said.

The IT exports reached $2.12 billion in fiscal year 2020-21 as against $1.44 billion in the preceding year, according to latest data released by Commerce Ministry.

“We are building a culture topromote enterpreneurship in the country. The government has offered several incentives in taxes and procedures in the budget 2021-22 to promote startups and encourage IT exports,” Dawood concluded.

— muzaffarrizvi@khaleejtimes.com