Mauritius Provides Glimpse of Island’s Diverse Tourism and Bilateral Investment Offerings Throughout Expo 2020 Dubai

Dubai, UAE – 05 April 2022: In the six months since the opening of the Mauritius Pavilion at Expo 2020 Dubai, the Indian Ocean Island has successfully showcased what the country offers tourists while highlighting a range of trade and investment opportunities to advance economic ties with the UAE.

Located in the Opportunity District of Expo 2020 Dubai, the pavilion hosted a range of public events to portray its diversely influenced culture. The pavilion celebrated International Creole Day in October with a musical dance and culture show at the French Pavilion  in addition to a live performance at the pavilion by Sega Group Zotsa all the way from Mauritius. In recognition of the island’s strong Indian heritage, Diwali was also celebrated in November with colourful rangolis and lights decorating the pavilion in addition to traditional festive sweet offerings. The island’s world-renowned picturesque backdrops and wide range of romantic experience opportunities were highlighted during Valentine’s day in February.

More recently, on 15 March, the Mauritius Pavilion celebrated its National Day with the Mauritian Diaspora in the UAE, UAE residents and visitors to Expo 2020 Dubai. Commemorating the event was H.E.  President Prithvirajsing Roopun GCSK, President of the Republic of Mauritius who welcomed H.H. Sheikh Mohammed bin Rashid Al Maktoum the preceding day during a courtesy visit in the Mauritius Pavilion. H.E. President Prithvirajsing Roopun GCSK was also joined by H.E, Sheikh Nahayan Mabarak Al Nahayan, UAE Minister of Tolerance, on the day of the national day festivities. In addition to a colourful musical dance show at Al Wasl Plaza, celebrations also included a public contest where visitors were invited to contribute to a larger-than-life dodo art piece.

On 20 March, the Mauritius Pavilion actively collaborated with the French Pavilion to celebrate La Journee Internationale de la Francophonie at Expo 2020 Dubai by encouraging visitors to engage in an interactive French conversational game.

“Expo 2020 Dubai served as the perfect platform to provide UAE residents and visitors with a holistic view of what Mauritius has to offer. In addition to reinforcing our world-renowned tourist attractions, including our beautiful natural landscapes and unique fusion of cultures, being at Expo 2020 Dubai allowed us to showcase the lucrative investment opportunities through successful trade events in key industries such as real estate, textiles, logistics, IT infrastructure and financial services,” said Mr. Ken Poonoosamy, Commissioner General for Mauritius Pavilion in Expo 2020 Dubai and Chief Executive Officer, Economic Development Board of Mauritius. “Through these events and meaningful conversations with sector leaders, it is clear that Mauritius holds great potential as an important business hub between the Middle East and Africa. We look forward to building on the progress we have made at Expo 2020 Dubai in the years to come from our new offices in the UAE.”

A range of trade events were also hosted by The Mauritius Pavilion and Mauritius EDB to shed light on the flourishing sectors of its economy. Finance and Investment Week took place in December 2021 to cement Mauritius’ position as an International Financial Centre of choice with four business forums. The themes of the forums were Mauritius; The Investment Hub for Africa, Private Banking and Wealth Management, Private Equity and Fund Management, and Fintech.

EDB Mauritius’ packed event calendar highlighted the island’s real estate and hospitality offering during a networking event in January at Expo 2020 Dubai, where some of the island’s leading real estate developers showcased investment opportunities to UAE residents and international Expo 2020 Dubai visitors. In the same month, an ICT Business Forum underpinned the country’s emergence as a global business and technology hub offering huge opportunities for the world. The forum focused on three major themes; Translating the Cyber Vision into a Reality, The Journey Towards Building a Digital Island, and Power Growth through Innovation.

In February, the Freeport and Logistics Week event showcased Mauritius Freeport as an ideal logistics, distribution and value addition platform located between Africa, Asia and Europe. Celebrating 30 years since the inception of the Mauritius Freeport in 1992, the event leveraged its recent second-place global ranking in the Annual Global Free Zones of the Year 2021 by fDi intelligence magazine, a specialist division of the Financial Times.

More recently, The Mauritius Pavilion and EDB Mauritius organised a fashion show in collaboration with the Ministry of Industrial Development, SMEs and Cooperatives, the Mauritius Fashion and Design Institute, and the Mauritius Tourism Promotion Authority, to showcase the nation’s leading position in branded clothing manufacturing while forging relationships with UAE trade associations, including design schools and institutes.

To build on the success of the Mauritius pavilion at Expo 2020 Dubai, EDB Mauritius signed a Memorandum of Understanding with the Dubai Chamber of Commerce and Industry to boost bilateral trade and investment opportunities across strategic sectors. As part of the agreement, EDB Mauritius established a representative office within the premise of Dubai Chamber of Commerce for an initial period of two years. The key objectives of the EDB Dubai Office will be to identify trade and investment opportunities which will benefit UAE and Mauritian businesses with a specific focus on the financial services, ICT, manufacturing, healthcare, ocean economy, renewable energy and property development sectors.