Malaysia Pavilion Will Join Expo 2020 Dubai’s Five-Year Legacy Programme, Says Minister
DUBAI, 29 March 2022 – The Malaysia Pavilion will be joining Expo 2020 Dubai’s five-year legacy programme and will be maintained and repurposed, Dato’ Sri Dr Adham Baba, Malaysia’s Minister of Science, Technology and Innovation (MOSTI) announced on Tuesday (29 March).
The pavilion – located in Jubilee – is set to become the Malaysian Technology and Innovation Hub in the UAE and will be government-owned and operated by a private Malaysian company under Expo 2020 Dubai’s legacy programme, according to the minister.
Speaking at a press conference at the pavilion, HE Dato’ Sri Dr Adham Baba said: “The Malaysia Pavilion’s transformation into the Technology and Innovation Hub reflects our country’s ambition of becoming a globally competitive digital nation. This also reinforces our government’s commitment to contribute to the global technology development and to strengthen bilateral ties and cooperation with the UAE.”
The pavilion will operate on a public-private partnership model where both the Malaysian government and a private entity will be able to utilise the facility to host officials and dignitaries, as well as serve as a platform to promote technology-based products and services.
Malaysia’s homegrown drone service provider Aerodyne Group was selected to take over the operations at the pavilion, and will also be using it as their second global headquarters.
A committee, chaired by Datuk Zainal Abidin Abu Hassan, MOSTI’s Secretary General, oversaw the selection of the company to ensure that the candidates met the programme’s criteria of being a key player in the sectors of smart city, smart logistics, smart mobility or Industry 4.0.
The Expo 2020 Dubai five-year legacy programme is part of the UAE government’s long-term initiative of repurposing the event site as an integrated mixed-use community, known as District 2020. District 2020 will evolve from Expo 2020 Dubai as a smart and sustainable city centred on the needs of its urban community. It will provide a curated innovation-driven business ecosystem that brings together global minds and embraces technology and digital innovation to support industry growth.
Under the theme ‘Energising Sustainability’, the current pavilion represents Malaysia’s commitment and approach to sustainable development and features a rainforest canopy inspired by the country’s majestic tropical rainforests, blending cultural elements with nature and functionality to create a futuristic building.
