Italy gearing up for Expo 2020 Dubai

Construction of the Italian pavilion to start in the first half of next year

Italy is finalising details of its participation in Dubai’s Expo 2020, Italian Ambassador to the UAE Liborio Stellino said.

Speaking to Gulf News on the sidelines of a press conference to announce details of Italian Cuisine Week to be held later this month, Ambassador Liborio Stellino said, “We are expecting now the budget law …[where] When it comes to World Pasta Day, Italycan never be left behind In the UAE. The Italian Trade Agency, the Italian Embassy, as well as the Consulate General in Dubai are joining hands to kick off monthlong celebrations starting from October 25 to November 25. October 25 marks the 20th anniversary of World Pasta Day, and this is the first time the event is being celebrated in the UAE. It will coincide with Italian Cuisine Week.

Italian food exports to the UAE in 2017 stood at €320 million, (Dh1.35 billion), Ambassador Liborio Stellino said. there will be the financing of the building of the [Italian] pavilion. During this period from October to January, there will be two parallel channels: one the approval of the financial part and then the finalisation of the tender. With the New Year, the tender will be launched and I think that [by] summer 2019, we will start the foundation [of the pavilion], probably before.”

Time is one of the challenges facing the Italian government to build its pavilion, said Italian Consul General Valentina Setta. “Yes, we are rushing, but we will be there,” he said.

The Italian pavilion at 3,400 square metres is going to be “ambitious” and large, Stellino added, at an estimated cost of €30 million (Dh127 million).

Italy “is committed to Expo because Milan hosted the 2015 expo … we had the moral obligation to pass on the torch in a responsible way” to UAE, he said.