News item | 31-03-2022 | 14:39
Expo 2020 Dubai will finally close its doors after six months. This also puts an end to the Dutch contribution to this 35e World Expo.
Minister Liesje Schreinemacher for Foreign Trade and Development Cooperation visited the Dutch pavilion last week: ‘The Netherlands showed its best side at Expo 2020 Dubai with the themes of water, energy and food. Thanks to our pavilion and the participating organizations and companies, our country has presented its business card and our trading position has been strengthened, especially in the Gulf region.’
Platform for business
For six months, the Dutch pavilion hosted more than 125 events for companies and knowledge institutions from the Netherlands and the Gulf region. Dozens of trade missions from the Netherlands also visited, including two led by a minister. The Dutch entrepreneurs represented various sectors such as water, sustainable energy, horticulture and urban development. ‘The activities we organized at the Expo are of great value. The Dutch business community has a lot to offer and was able to show this to the Gulf region and the rest of the world at the Expo. We are innovative, deliver smart solutions and quality. There is a great need for this in the countries in the Gulf. I noticed that in my conversations during my recent visit to the region,’ said Minister Schreinemacher.
Many Dutch companies contributed to the construction and operation of the Expo. The fifty companies that participated in the trade mission in November indicate that together they expect more than 100 million euros in additional turnover.
Meetings at the pavilion also provided unexpected opportunities. For example, an entrepreneur from India wants to set up an agricultural company using vertical farming in his country. Schreinemacher: ‘It shows that we can deploy Dutch knowledge and technology in the field of water, energy and food anywhere in the world.’
Pavilion as a biotope
The pavilion received more than 950,000 visitors, including King Willem-Alexander and Queen Máxima. The consortium responsible for the design and construction won no fewer than 10 different international prizes during this period for sustainable design and use.
Visitors from the Gulf region and other continents saw a mini-biotope: food was grown, water extracted and electricity generated, all in a circular climate system. Dutch innovations formed the heart of the concept. The Sunglacier by the Dutch artist Ap Verheggen extracted 1200 liters of water from the desert air every day. The required energy came from the solar panels on the roof, designed by Marjan van Aubel, which simultaneously let the light through for the growth of the plants. Energy provides water, and water provides food.
Minimal footprint
Expo 2020 Dubai opened its gates to the public on October 1, 2021 under the name Connecting Minds, Creating the future. The World’s Fair was supposed to start in 2020, but was postponed due to the pandemic. More than 190 countries and organizations were represented at the Expo. The Netherlands had its own pavilion in the Sustainability District, with the theme Uniting Water Energy and Food.
The pavilion had a sustainable, circular design and was distinguished by the use of raw, recyclable materials that are widely used locally. The consortium of V8 Architects, Kossmanndejong, Witteveen+Bos and Expomobilia consciously opted for materials that are given a new lease of life afterwards. For example, the steel sheet piles were rented: they will be reused in a subsequent construction project in the region. Materials made from biodegradable substances, such as the mycelium from mushrooms, were also processed in the pavilion.
Minister Schreinemacher: ‘We will soon leave the place as we borrowed it. This keeps our physical footprint to a minimum.’
For more information see www.dutchdubai.com