Water and the need for conservation will be the main focus of the Guinea pavilion at Expo 2020 Dubai.
It will be the first time at a World Expo that Guinea will have its own pavilion and it has invested an estimated $2 million to bring the message to Dubai.
At Expo 2020 Dubai, our country will for the very first time, have its own pavilion. For many people, this will be their first occasion to explore Guinea.
Gabriel Curtis,
Guinea's Minister of Investments
The country has been part of several World Expos including in Milan, Shanghai and Hanover, but never had its own space.
The Dubai Expo organisers committed to host a World Fair where each country would have its own pavilion.
“It is a very important Expo because Guinea has its own pavilion. This is the perfect place to share Guinean stories,” Gabriel Curtis, Guinea's Minister of Investments and Public Partnership, told The National.
“At Expo 2020 Dubai, our country will for the very first time have its own pavilion to showcase its sustainable economic development.
“For many people, Expo 2020 Dubai will be their first occasion to explore Guinea."
Mr Curtis, who is also commissioner general of the pavilion, said the aim was to highlight urban water renewal strategies.
“The pavilion is interactive and at its core is a call to action,” he said.
Entitled "Tap into the Source of West Africa", the theme will be centred on showing visitors how they play a vital role in preserving water and can reduce consumption.
Billions of people around the world suffer from poor access to water, which affects sanitation and hygiene, increasing transmission of diseases, the World Health Organisation said.
About 2.2 billion people do not have safely managed drinking water supplies and 3 billion lack the basic ability to wash their hands, a 2019 report said.
Studies have shown the poorest communities often spend the highest percentage of their income on water.
Mr Curtis said Expo 2020 Dubai was crucial to revive trade and the global economy during the first major international event amid the Covid-19 pandemic.
“Expo 2020 Dubai is even more crucial today than ever as it will be the perfect way to bring together thinkers to tackle global challenges, such as the Covid-19 pandemic and its effects,” he said.
“In this spirit, the Guinea pavilion features a co-creation lab where people from all corners of the world will come together to think about global challenges and propose solutions.”
Companies and organisations from Guinea would be involved in three theme weeks during Expo, relating to travel, agriculture and water.
The country plans to hold conferences and investment forums as hybrid events to enable participation by those who cannot make it to Dubai.
The pavilion is near the UAE structure and Al Wasl Plaza, the centrepiece of the site.
“We hope that this, allied with the engaging narrative of the pavilion, will attract at least 100,000 visitors,” Mr Curtis said.
The structure is 85 per cent complete and the multimedia content is being finished. Encouraging tourism, investment and promoting local products are among the objectives.
Guinea has significant natural resources, including large reserves of iron ore, gold and diamonds that attract foreign investment.
Energy and the agricultural sector are just some of the areas where the country seeks to deepen ties with the UAE.
Final preparations with just days to go before Expo 2020 - in pictures
England Test squad
Joe Root (captain), Moeen Ali, James Anderson, Jonny Bairstow (wicketkeeper), Stuart Broad, Jos Buttler, Alastair Cook, Sam Curran, Keaton Jennings, Dawid Malan, Jamie Porter, Adil Rashid, Ben Stokes.
What are the GCSE grade equivalents?
- Grade 9 = above an A*
- Grade 8 = between grades A* and A
- Grade 7 = grade A
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- Grade 4 = grade C
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Sarfira
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Starring: Akshay Kumar, Radhika Madan, Paresh Rawal
Rating: 2/5
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Our family matters legal consultant
Name: Hassan Mohsen Elhais
Position: legal consultant with Al Rowaad Advocates and Legal Consultants.
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Karwaan
Producer: Ronnie Screwvala
Director: Akarsh Khurana
Starring: Irrfan Khan, Dulquer Salmaan, Mithila Palkar
Rating: 4/5
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The specs
- Engine: 3.9-litre twin-turbo V8
- Power: 640hp
- Torque: 760nm
- On sale: 2026
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Zayed Sustainability Prize
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Scorline
Iraq 1-0 UAE
Iraq Hussein 28’
Results
Stage three:
1. Stefan Bissegger (SUI) EF Education-EasyPost, in 9-43
2. Filippo Ganna (ITA) Ineos Grenadiers, at 7s
3. Tom Dumoulin (NED) Jumbo-Visma, at 14s
4. Tadej Pogacar (SLO) UAE-Team Emirates, at 18s
5. Joao Almeida (POR) UAE-Team Emirates, at 22s
6. Mikkel Bjerg (DEN) UAE-Team Emirates, at 24s
General Classification:
1. Stefan Bissegger (SUI) EF Education-EasyPost, in 9-13-02
2. Filippo Ganna (ITA) Ineos Grenadiers, at 7s
3. Jasper Philipsen (BEL) Alpecin Fenix, at 12s
4. Tom Dumoulin (NED) Jumbo-Visma, at 14s
5. Tadej Pogacar (SLO) UAE-Team Emirates, at 18s
6. Joao Almeida (POR) UAE-Team Emirates, at 22s
Benefits of first-time home buyers' scheme
- Priority access to new homes from participating developers
- Discounts on sales price of off-plan units
- Flexible payment plans from developers
- Mortgages with better interest rates, faster approval times and reduced fees
- DLD registration fee can be paid through banks or credit cards at zero interest rates
Who's who in Yemen conflict
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Yemeni government: Exiled government in Aden led by eight-member Presidential Leadership Council
Southern Transitional Council: Faction in Yemeni government that seeks autonomy for the south
Habrish 'rebels': Tribal-backed forces feuding with STC over control of oil in government territory
Mercer, the investment consulting arm of US services company Marsh & McLennan, expects its wealth division to at least double its assets under management (AUM) in the Middle East as wealth in the region continues to grow despite economic headwinds, a company official said.
Mercer Wealth, which globally has $160 billion in AUM, plans to boost its AUM in the region to $2-$3bn in the next 2-3 years from the present $1bn, said Yasir AbuShaban, a Dubai-based principal with Mercer Wealth.
“Within the next two to three years, we are looking at reaching $2 to $3 billion as a conservative estimate and we do see an opportunity to do so,” said Mr AbuShaban.
Mercer does not directly make investments, but allocates clients’ money they have discretion to, to professional asset managers. They also provide advice to clients.
“We have buying power. We can negotiate on their (client’s) behalf with asset managers to provide them lower fees than they otherwise would have to get on their own,” he added.
Mercer Wealth’s clients include sovereign wealth funds, family offices, and insurance companies among others.
From its office in Dubai, Mercer also looks after Africa, India and Turkey, where they also see opportunity for growth.
Wealth creation in Middle East and Africa (MEA) grew 8.5 per cent to $8.1 trillion last year from $7.5tn in 2015, higher than last year’s global average of 6 per cent and the second-highest growth in a region after Asia-Pacific which grew 9.9 per cent, according to consultancy Boston Consulting Group (BCG). In the region, where wealth grew just 1.9 per cent in 2015 compared with 2014, a pickup in oil prices has helped in wealth generation.
BCG is forecasting MEA wealth will rise to $12tn by 2021, growing at an annual average of 8 per cent.
Drivers of wealth generation in the region will be split evenly between new wealth creation and growth of performance of existing assets, according to BCG.
Another general trend in the region is clients’ looking for a comprehensive approach to investing, according to Mr AbuShaban.
“Institutional investors or some of the families are seeing a slowdown in the available capital they have to invest and in that sense they are looking at optimizing the way they manage their portfolios and making sure they are not investing haphazardly and different parts of their investment are working together,” said Mr AbuShaban.
Some clients also have a higher appetite for risk, given the low interest-rate environment that does not provide enough yield for some institutional investors. These clients are keen to invest in illiquid assets, such as private equity and infrastructure.
“What we have seen is a desire for higher returns in what has been a low-return environment specifically in various fixed income or bonds,” he said.
“In this environment, we have seen a de facto increase in the risk that clients are taking in things like illiquid investments, private equity investments, infrastructure and private debt, those kind of investments were higher illiquidity results in incrementally higher returns.”
The Abu Dhabi Investment Authority, one of the largest sovereign wealth funds, said in its 2016 report that has gradually increased its exposure in direct private equity and private credit transactions, mainly in Asian markets and especially in China and India. The authority’s private equity department focused on structured equities owing to “their defensive characteristics.”
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Timeline
2012-2015
The company offers payments/bribes to win key contracts in the Middle East
May 2017
The UK SFO officially opens investigation into Petrofac’s use of agents, corruption, and potential bribery to secure contracts
September 2021
Petrofac pleads guilty to seven counts of failing to prevent bribery under the UK Bribery Act
October 2021
Court fines Petrofac £77 million for bribery. Former executive receives a two-year suspended sentence
December 2024
Petrofac enters into comprehensive restructuring to strengthen the financial position of the group
May 2025
The High Court of England and Wales approves the company’s restructuring plan
July 2025
The Court of Appeal issues a judgment challenging parts of the restructuring plan
August 2025
Petrofac issues a business update to execute the restructuring and confirms it will appeal the Court of Appeal decision
October 2025
Petrofac loses a major TenneT offshore wind contract worth €13 billion. Holding company files for administration in the UK. Petrofac delisted from the London Stock Exchange
November 2025
180 Petrofac employees laid off in the UAE
Real estate tokenisation project
Dubai launched the pilot phase of its real estate tokenisation project last month.
The initiative focuses on converting real estate assets into digital tokens recorded on blockchain technology and helps in streamlining the process of buying, selling and investing, the Dubai Land Department said.
Dubai’s real estate tokenisation market is projected to reach Dh60 billion ($16.33 billion) by 2033, representing 7 per cent of the emirate’s total property transactions, according to the DLD.
