KARACHI: Pakistan is in the process of finalizing the details of its participation in the World Expo 2020, which will be hosted in the UAE, hoping to get a nod for its proposed theme from the relevant authorities in the coming weeks, officials said on Wednesday.

“We are waiting for the approval of the concept theme that has been forwarded to Expo 2020 Dubai authorities...in a week or two because the basic features were cleared by them...” Muhammad Sualeh Ahmed Faruqui, Secretary Trade Development Authority of Pakistan (TDAP), told Arab News on Wednesday.

“The government has sanctioned $500 million [for the purpose], but we believe that the expenses there would be more than that because we have to meet minimum standards that have been set by the authorities,” Faruqui said.

Expo 2020 is scheduled to take place for a duration of six months from October 20, 2020 to April 10, 2021, with Dubai set to host the mega event.

According to the organizers, the event will be “a time to create, collaborate and innovate. And it’s going to be fun. We’re talking eye-catching, mind-bending, taste bud-tickling, grin-inducing, good-weird, did-that-really-just-happen fun.”

Authorities in Pakistan are currently deliberating for ways to generate funds for the purpose. “There are no stalls in Expo 2020 Dubai so that your pavilion is not an individual stall. n Instead, it is a reflection of Pakistan as a whole, its history, its present and its natural endowments, progress, development, and its potential,” Faruqui said.

He added that details of the initiative would be finalized within the next couple of months. “We are trying that at least the major theme, and its cost calculation could be in hand within next one and half months,” he said, adding that “major work has to be done on the content development.”

In line with the Expo 2020 subtheme of sustainability, 80 percent of the buildings and structures will find new life in the thriving future city of District 2020.

A key pillar of Expo 2020’s aim is to leave a meaningful and lasting legacy. District 2020 will be a global center for the next generation of innovators, original thinkers, and pioneers for generations to come.

“They have a special offer for Pakistan that is in lieu of some fee [through which] you can retain it for the next 20 years. We are also working on that...that would be a permanent display center and could be used for different sectors in the future,” Faruqui said.

He added: “We have recommended that the government of Pakistan retain that infrastructure instead of dismantling it because it would turn into billions of rupees worth of assets for Pakistan at a strategic location and the country can use it for various purposes.”

TDAP, an official body which was established to promote exports, is scheduled to participate in three exhibitions taking place this year in Saudi Arabia which also includes the Hotel Show in Jeddah, in April this year, where products related to home textiles will be displayed.

Additionally, the Global Health Expo will be held in Riyadh in September for pharmaceuticals and surgical products, while the Foodex will take place in November to showcase confectionary and agro food products.

Pakistan hopes that the crown prince’s visit will open more investment and export opportunities in the future. “We are discussing the opportunities that will emerge following the visit of the crown prince, but we are looking at the challenges of our preparedness for meeting the demand which the world is expecting from us,” Faruqui said.

He added that the organization was being reformed to make it more vibrant as per the requirements of the current digital age.