The Caribbean Community (CARICOM) Pavilion at Expo Milano 2015 in Milan, Italy, is attracting thousands of visitors weekly and, with its beach scene and tropical flower decorations, is being described as the “warmest” and the “friendliest” at the six-month Exposition. The Exposition began on 1 May and concludes on 31 October, 2015.
Eight CARICOM Member States are participating in the Exposition that is being held under the theme ‘Feeding the Planet, Energy for Life’. Representatives of the eight Member States – Barbados, Belize, Dominica, Grenada, Guyana, Saint Lucia, St. Vincent and the Grenadines and Suriname will be showcasing aspects of their destinations during the six months of the Exposition.
There are more than 130 participants in the World Expo with themed pavilions, elaborately decorated. The CARICOM Pavilion is no different with palm trees adorning the exhibition space and steel pan music welcoming visitors to the Pavilion.
The focus of CARICOM’s participation in the World Expo is a demonstration of how Regional production of food could grow faster and make a bigger contribution to food and nutrition security of firstly the Region, and by extension, the world.
The theme of Expo Milano 2015 is at the heart of what CARICOM wants to achieve for its peoples; despite the challenges that exist, the output of food and agricultural products in CARICOM continues to play an integral role in the economic and social development of many countries.
The Community aims to share with Expo 2015 the Region’s strategic approach to transforming the agriculture sector into an internationally competitive one, with increased capacity to contribute to the sustained economic development as outlined in its ‘Liliendaal Declaration on Agriculture and Food’.
Located in the ‘Islands, Sea and Food’ Cluster, the CARICOM Pavilion is part of the new Cluster initiative of Expo Milano 2015, a key element in the Exposition. There are nine thematic clusters at Expo 2015 including Rice, Cocoa, Coffee, Fruits and Legumes, Cereals and Tubers, the World of Spices, Arid Zones and Bio- Mediterranean.
The participating CARICOM Member States are displaying products manufactured in the respective territories along with a colourful and diverse depiction of their tourism products; each boasts a unique product that the representatives are also eager to share with the rest of the world.
