Expo 2020 expects to attract 25 million visits to the world fair in Dubai from October next year, and Kiwi businesses will be able to capitalise on the opportunity through a business leveraging programme.
NZTE has announced its business programme, which is designed to help exporters already active in the region, or those who want to explore the opportunities.
During Expo 2020, which runs for six months, buyers, retailers, thought leaders, distributors and other potential partners will converge in an environment of unparalleled opportunity to accelerate business, not only in the United Arab Emirates but the Middle East and globally.
Dubai is already a global meeting place with one-third of the world’s population within a four-hour flight. The United Arab Emirates and the surrounding Gulf Cooperation Countries (Saudi Arabia, Bahrain, Kuwait, Qatar and Oman) rank among New Zealand’s fastest growing trading partners, with annual two-way trade worth $4 billion.
The Business Leverage Programme – which runs over two years, starting October 2019 – will introduce NZTE customers to growing areas of innovation and ways to diversify their business activity in the region. The two-year timeframe is designed to give businesses ample time to understand the opportunities that Expo 2020 provides.
The programme will feature a series of tailored activity for companies in the food and beverage, specialised manufacturing, building and construction, and technology sectors. Dubai hosts major trade fairs for these sectors, and the programme will include attendance at these. The first is Gulfood Manufacturing this October, a major event focused on the food and beverage processing industry.
In addition, a new Discover programme will introduce New Zealand businesses to the Middle East; it is specially designed for exporters who are not yet active in the region. All activities are designed to provide targeted networking opportunities and relevant market information to support businesses’ global growth.
NZTE will tap into its global network in response to companies’ targets, to facilitate business matching opportunities with industry leaders, opinion formers, buyers, product specialists, distributors and decision makers from the Middle East and around the world.
The scale of Expo 2020 and the major trade events happening in Dubai will allow NZTE customers to build relationships and preference for their brand with key targets in the region.
NZTE’s regional director for the Middle East, India and Africa based in Dubai, Tony Martin, said: “Countries in the Gulf are focused on diversifying their economies away from a reliance on oil and gas by investing in sectors like manufacturing, healthcare, education, technology, tourism and alternative energy.
“The Expo Leveraging Programme will introduce customers to growing areas of innovation and ways to diversify their business activity in the region.
“New Zealand companies have many advantages in this region – our innovative, practical approach is highly prized – and NZTE has the networks and understanding of the culture, and the way they like to do business, that will help our exporters make the most of the opportunities.”
For more details about the programme, visit NZTE’s website here. New Zealand is participating in the Expo itself with an innovative pavilion based on the theme ‘Care for People and Place’. For more information, visit the New Zealand Expo 2020 website here.
Photo: The ground breaking ceremony for the NZ Pavilion earlier this year.
