Malaysia joins UAE's Expo 2020 Dubai 5-year legacy programme

KUALA LUMPUR: Malaysia is participating in the United Arab Emirates (UAE) government's Expo 2020 Dubai five-year legacy programme and the Malaysia Pavilion at the event site will be retained and repurposed over the next five years.

Science, Technology and Innovations Minister Datuk Seri Dr Adham Baba in a statement today said the pavilion will be the Malaysian Technology and Innovation Hub in the UAE and will be retained as government-owned and operated by a private Malaysian company for the next five years

"The Hub will operate on a public-private partnership model where both the Malaysian government and the private entity can utilise this facility to host officials and dignitaries as well as a platform to promote technology-based products and services.

"Malaysia Pavilion's transformation into a 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 global technology development and to strengthen bilateral ties and cooperation with the UAE," he said at the handover ceremony in Dubai today.

Following this, he said a steering committee chaired by Science, Technology and Innovation Ministry (MOSTI) secretary-general Datuk Zainal Abidin Abu Hassan will oversee the ownership of the Technology and Innovation Hub and ensure the candidates meet the programme's criteria of being a key player in the main sectors of smart city, smart logistics, smart mobility or Industry 4.0.

Malaysia's homegrown Aerodyne Group which is also a global leader in the drone service provider was selected to take over operations of the pavilion in the UAE and will be utilising this facility as their second global headquarters, he said.

Dr Adham said Aerodyne Group technological footprint extends to areas such as smart mobility and smart logistic sectors and with their capabilities and network, the Malaysian Technology and Innovation Hub will prove to be an invaluable asset for their growth in the region.

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 after the conclusion of the World Expo.

-- BERNAMA