Indian pavilion delegation after a tour of Conares’ plant.

Construction of the Expo Dubai India pavilion will be completed by March 31, it was revealed during a visit of high-level team of officials to the headquarters and manufacturing plants of Conares.

Conares, the region’s second-largest steel manufacturer, is owned by UAE’s top Indian industrialist, Bharat Bhatia. The plant is at Jebel Ali Free Zone Authority (Jafza), Dubai.

The Indian Pavilion delegation included Pavan Kapoor, Ambassador of India in the UAE; Dr Aman Puri, Consul General of India in Dubai; Dilip Chenoy, Secretary General, Federation of Indian Chambers of Commerce & Industry (FICCI), Gunveena Chadha, Assistant Secretary General of FICCI, Praveen Mittal, Director of FICCI, and Pankaj Bodkhe of Consul at CGI Dubai.

FICCI is the industry partner of the Indian government for its participation in the World Expo, and the delegation is seeking support of Indian business leaders to make Expo Dubai’s India Pavilion a huge success.

Kapoor said: “We are glad to visit the headquarters of Conares, which is among the tier-1 organisations led by top Indian business leaders. We are seeking the support of Conares to make India Pavilion at the Expo Dubai a resounding success.  The India Pavilion will also play a key role to make significant progress in several existing areas of cooperation between India and the UAE in addition to exploring new opportunities.”

“The Indo-UAE bilateral relationship will witness another phase of development with India’s massive presence in the Expo. Both the nations are moving in positive directions. The UAE looks at India seriously, and positive interactions will benefit both the countries and the people,” he added.

Welcoming the delegation, Bhatia, said: “We have plans to be part of the pavilion as the Expo is expected to be a key driver of the UAE-India trade in the new decade and beyond. We will extend our full support to make the presence and engagement of the Indian Pavilion a huge success.”

Chenoy said: “The India Pavilion at the World Expo in Dubai will showcase the best of India at a greater level. It will open up huge opportunities for the world to engage with India as a nation of multiple resources and innovations in arts and cultures, industrial manufacturing, knowledge-based capabilities, economic growth, traditional properties and the great Indian cuisine. The pavilion also will initiate seamless possibilities of investing in India for visitors of the Expo and investors from around the world.”

“The pavilion will be unique in terms of its architecture, quality and content. It will be inaugurated in line with the certification by the authorities in Dubai,” he added.