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During the Expo several orders were made to supply 50 metric tons of dried kidney beans per month by Gulf Fields Trading and supplying 1000 beef cows per month.

The Ambassador of Uganda to the United Arab Emirates, Mr Zaake Kibedi, has said the country reaped big from the Dubai Expo which ended last month.

In a statement released Friday, Ambassador, Kibedi revealed that statistics from the Expo Media office of Dubai indicate that over 24 million visitors were registered over the six-month period.

"The Uganda Pavilion registered an average of 40,000 visitors per week over the six months, with Thursday to Saturday being the peak days. Some of the high-profile visitors included; the President of the Republic of Uganda, Vice President and other officials who went with the president's delegation, " he said.

Uganda joined 192 nations and organizations to participate in Dubai Expo 2020 under the theme of “Connecting Minds, Creating the Future.” The Expo focused on creating opportunity, sustainability and mobility.

Mr Kibedi said the main objectives of Uganda to participate in the Dubai Expo 2020 included attracting investors and hence Foreign Direct Investment (FDIs) into sectors of interest. He said a total of 77 projects were profiled for promotion in Agriculture and Agro-Processing, Tourism, Infrastructure, Energy, ICT, Oil & Gas, Mining, Healthcare, Real Estate, Manufacturing amongst others.

"The Expo also aimed at promoting trade between Uganda, the greater Middle East and the entire world. The priority products were beverages crops such as coffee, tea, cocoa; fish and fish products, fruits, vegetables, and spices (horticulture). Others were grains, dairy product, and other food products such as dried fruits, herbs and spices.

According to the statement the Expo also aimed at promoting Uganda as a preferred tourism destination.

“Explore Uganda, The Pearl of Africa” was one of the top three destinations that won international recognition at the Expo as a premium tourist destination.

Besides the commitments and Memorandum of understanding that were signed during the Expo, in addition, a number of export deals were signed for at least $1bn) of products such as crops, vegetables, beef, dairy products and precious metals amongst others.

"Other key achievements at the Expo that can be highlighted include the launch of Uganda Airlines flights to Dubai in the first week of the Expo. Opening up the Embassy Liaison office in Dubai which has now been upgraded to a Consulate and launch of a maiden flight of Air Arabia from Sharjah with daily flights to Uganda," he said.

During the Expo several orders were made to supply 50 metric tons of dried kidney beans per month by Gulf Fields Trading and supplying 1000 beef cows per month.

About the expo

The Dubai Expo 2020 was officially closed on March 31, 2022, after running for six months. It needs to be noted that the Expo was initially planned for 20th October 2020 to 10th April 2021; however, due to the COVID-19 which was declared a pandemic by World Health Organization (WHO) on 11th March 2020, the Expo was postponed for twelve (12) months and hence held on the above-mentioned dates.

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