 World Expos for almost two centuries have provided a platform to showcase the greatest innovations that have shaped the world we live in today. Expo 2020 will continue that tradition with the latest technology the world over. St. Lucia's participation at Expo 2020 Dubai is poised to showcase the island's accommodating landscape for tourism, investment and trade to the millions of visitors expected to attend the event which will be held from the 1st of October 2021 to the 31st of March 2022. Hamadi Mark reports. Expo 2020 Dubai provides the ultimate platform for networking and international exposure for over 190 participating countries. Participants have the unique opportunity to display the best their country has to offer. The showcases are being held under three districts, sustainability, mobility and opportunity. St. Lucia's participation will be under the Opportunity District. Expo's St. Lucia in collaboration with Invest St. Lucia, the Citizenship by Investment Programme and the St. Lucia Tourism Authority have been working tirelessly to fully capitalise on the opportunity. Sunita Daniel is Expo's St. Lucia's Chief Executive Officer. I think St. Lucia has a great product and not only what our manufacturers do but also the product that is St. Lucia. In terms of CIP, we have one of the stronger CIP programmes in the Caribbean. In terms of our beauty and our tourism products, we have an excellent tourism product and we're hoping that that product we will be able to expose all visitors who pass through our pavilion. They will be exposed to our tourism product, the self-esprings, the beach, the forest. We have a huge diversity of events that they can come to. And in terms of investment, just one investment alone covers the cost of the entire participation in Dubai. St. Lucia's theme for Expo 2020 Dubai is creating new opportunities to inspire the world. Let her inspire you. Minister for Tourism, Investment, Creative Industries, Culture and Information. Honourable Dr. Ernest Hillers says St. Lucia's participation in the Expo is the perfect opportunity to attract new tourism markets. We don't have many visitors from Mina, Middle East and North Africa. So it is an opportunity for us for six months to promote St. Lucia to a new market and to be able to attract and become to St. Lucia for weddings, for conferences and other incentives that incentive groups will participate in for diving. So really it is a tremendous opportunity. We've never had an opportunity like this to actually go into a new source market which is a prolonged period of time and to be able to get new business. So for us it's fantastic and we're excited about it. In addition to tourism and investment opportunities for the island, the Expo also provides local manufacturers an opportunity to attain international recognition. Minister for Commerce, Manufacturing, Business Development, Cooperatives and Consumer Affairs Honourable Emma Hippolett says The Ministry of Commerce is working to ensure that interest obtained from the Expo is translated into sustainable business. What is important is that we are ready that after we get the interest and we conclude orders that we have the ability to keep these orders, to supply these orders and to do it to the right standard. And that is why it is important to inform solutions that the Minister of Commerce, we have the Bureau of Standards and that is the role to work with your manufacturer, large and small, to ensure that we keep international standards. Expo 2020 Dubai is scheduled from October 1, 2021 to March 31, 2022 under the theme Connecting Minds, Creating the Future. From the Government Information Service, Hermione Mark reporting.