As we enter the final month of Expo 2020 Dubai, the Malaysia Pavilion is gearing up to end the mega event on a high note. March looks to be the busiest month yet with a packed cultural and business agenda, numerous collaborations and a special surprise for the one-millionth visitor to the Malaysia Pavilion.

On the business front, the month kicked off with Johor week, running from 27^th February until 5^thMarch, 2022, along with the regular business programmes featuring pocket talks and business matching sessions, visitors can also witness a traditional Johor wedding at the amphitheatre throughout the week at 4:30PM and 8.00PM.

Running from 6^th March until 12^th March 2022, Week 23 is themed “Smart Selangor Towards a Productive, Livable and Sustainable Future as a Smart State,” which will be led by Invest Selangor Berhad. The Selangor state has set a goal to contribute 30 per cent of Malaysia’s GDP by 2030, with this in mind, the week will be promoting the five core clusters of industries for Investment, namely electrical and electronics, life sciences( biotechnology), transport and equipment (aerospace), machinery and equipment, and food and beverage industries. Business leaders can look forward to an investment forum, sharing sessions and an eye-to-eye business negotiation programme and special activities, and the “Splendid Selangor, Take me Anywhere” tourism campaign.

The state of Melaka will take the spotlight from 13^th March until 19^thMarch, 2022 with a focus on tourism and manufacturing in multiple industries, including semiconductors and food. Melaka State Economic Planning Unit is the lead with the Chief Minister of Melaka, The Right HonourableDatuk Seri Utama Dr. Haji Sulaiman bin Md Ali officially opening the week on 14^th March 2022. Visitors can also look forward to colourful cultural performances by troupes from BrigedSeni and Yong Tai-Encore Melaka.

Shifting gears in week 24, the Ministry of Environment and Water Malaysia and lead agency National Water Services Commission (SPAN) will run Water Week from 20^th March through to 26^th March 2022. Malaysia aims to develop holistic and sustainable water demand management strategies for nationwide implementation, with the key objective of achieving a more sustainable and secure water source in the future. SPAN will use Expo 2020 as a platform to share knowledge and experience from various countries in managing water demand strategies.

Closing Expo 2020 Dubai, the last week at the Malaysia Pavilion is themed “Circular Economy”, organised by the Ministry of Environment & Water Malaysia with lead agency Malaysian Green Technology & Climate Change Corporation (MGTC). This week will be a platform to promote Government and private initiatives in adopting a circular economy for responsible businesses by improving the design of products,optimising production processes and implementing Extended Producer Responsibility. The week will also feature the Circular Economy Conference where a panel of distinguished international speakers will share the latest insights from policy to technology and business.

On the cultural front, the Malaysia Pavilion will collaborate with several other country pavilions to give visitors a fused cultural experience. These include:

• Friday, 4^th March 2022 from 6:30PM until 7:30PM — Cultural Collaboration with dance troupes from both Malaysia and Thailand performing at the Thailand Pavilion
• Sunday, 6^th March 2022 from 12PM until 2PM — Crafts Collaboration where both countries will showcase their traditional crafts with Malaysian craftsmen conducting batik and weaving demonstration at the Poland Pavilion.
• Sunday, 20^th March 2022 in the evening — Cultural Collaboration at the India Pavilion showcasing traditional dances from both India and Malaysia.

On Sunday, 27^th March 2022, the Malaysia Pavilion will host the final and highly popular MyButterfly Kite Flying event at Al Forsan Park between 4:30PMand 6:30PM. This will be an exceptional event as Osaka is partnering with the Malaysia Pavilion to celebrate Expo 2025 Osaka, Kansai, in Japan. Connecting the two Expos’ themes, “Connecting Minds, Creating the Future” and “Designing Future Society for Our Lives,” Osaka aims to create smiles by offering visitors smile and umbrella kites.

Malaysia’s participation in Expo 2020 Dubai is led by the Ministry of Science, Technology and Innovation with Malaysian Green Technology and Climate Change Centre as the implementing agency.