Expo 2020 is an opportunity for Guinea to connect with the global market: Gabriel G Curtis

The West African nation Guinea will use the Expo 202 platform to establish itself in the global market with natural resources and niche tourism opportunities. Talking to The Brew Gabriel G. Curtis, Minister of Investments and Public-Private Partnerships and Commissioner General overseeing Guinea’s participation at Expo 2020 Dubai, said that Guinea is a vibrant African country with a young and dynamic population, and in recent years many structural reforms have been taken by the government to accelerate its education and socio-economic level. At the Expo, we aim to showcase new facets of Guinea to a wide audience.

Expo 2020 Dubai, Guinea for the first time, will have its own pavilion, which will help create a significant impact in communicating the country’s propositions to the world in a focused manner.

Guinea will showcase the country’s sustainable economic development driven by a National Economic and Social Development Plan based on the pillars of good governance, economic transformation, human capital development, and protection of natural resources.

In line with Guinea’s image as the `Water tower of West Africa,’ the pavilion at Expo 2020 will have a devoted theme on sustainable development and urban renewal focused on water. The pavilion is titled “tap into the source of West Africa.” 

The Expo 2020 Dubai will give a new impetus to Guinea by providing a strong platform to strengthen its relationship with the UAE. The Guinean pavilion is titled “tap into the source of West Africa”. Total investment for the pavilion is estimated at a total of $2 million which has used sustainable materials to ensure zero carbon emission.

Gabriel G. Curtis added that Guinea’s current focus is on energy, agriculture industry, and infrastructure and these core pillars will deepen their ties with the UAE and the world. In terms of innovation, we want to develop sectors such as health, mobility, tourism, e-commerce, and agriculture. The improvement of the mobile internet penetration rate from 40 percent to 65 percent has placed Guinea among the top 5 African countries. The nation anticipates recording a growth of 5.6 percent against 2021against six percent in 2020, despite the challenges faced due to the impact of the Covid-19 outbreak.

The Guinean pavilion is titled “tap into the source of West Africa”. The West African nation of Guinea will use Expo 2020 Dubai as a platform to showcase trade and tourism opportunities in the country. Guinea is a vibrant country with a young and dynamic population, and in recent years it has undertaken profound structural reforms to accelerate its socio-economic development. At the Expo, we aim to showcase new facets of Guinea to a wide audience. The nation — a beneficiary of a special assistance package from Expo organisers — has a shoreline on the Atlantic Ocean and shares borders with Ivory Coast, Guinea-Bissau, and Senegal as neighbors, amongst others. The country houses two-thirds of the world’s bauxite reserves.

Guinea possesses tremendous mining resources including large reserves of iron ore [20 billion tonnes], gold [700 tonnes], diamond [30 million carats], and especially bauxite [40 billion tonnes], which explains why much of FDI [foreign direct investment] has to date been focused on this sector.

Guinea, like other participants, will use the Expo to strengthen further economic, commercial, and cultural ties with other countries. This collaboration is more important after the Covid-19 pandemic, which has had a serious impact on the world’s economy. International events like Expo 2020 Dubai are crucial to revive trade and the global economy.

While talking about the future prospective Gabriel G. Curtis said that the country — often called the Water Tower of West Africa thanks to being the origin of several rivers in the region, including the 3 major rivers of the African continent — is home to nature reserves and historical sites. We are trying hard to develop this country as a niche tourism and tracking spot in the world. It will be a sustainable, eco-friendly, and cultural tourism format. We know that right now Guinea may not be on most visitors’ radars, but we hope that once our pavilion is revealed, its many surprises and innovative use of technology to bring Guinea to life will make it a must-see spot.

He added that the pavilion will take to its visitors through the water journey of Guinea as its theme. The pavilion will also be celebrating Guinea Day on February 13, 2022, and also organise a series of events like Guinea Investment Forum to connect businesses, also during expo Guinea, will participate in Africa business forum event on October 13-14, will participate in tourism week, and other events related with agriculture and water.

Gabriel G. Curtis concluded that Guinea has given many talents to the world in football and music and expo2020 is an opportunity for us to showcase our strength to the world and invite them for further business, agriculture, cultural, and tourism development. It is an opportunity for us to connect our diaspora population from all over the world.

Pictures: Supplied