Preparation for the Osaka Expo gather pace

By Sam Mupedziswa

The Osaka 2025 Expo to be held in Japan is an excellent opportunity for Zimbabwe to further its engagement and re-engagement diplomatic offensive, Foreign Affairs and International Trade Permanent Secretary Ambassador Albert Chimbindi said yesterday.

In a speech read on his behalf by Director of International Trade, Mr Kingdom Gandanga, at a stakeholder meeting held in Harare last night, Ambassador Chimbindi said, “Zimbabwe’s participation at next year’s expo was evidence of the country’s intent to become a key player on the global arena.” 

The Osaka Expo 2025 is an upcoming World Expo organised and sanctioned by the Bureau International des Expositions and it will take place for six months starting from April 13, 2025. 

Osaka Expo 2025 will be held at Kansai, Japan, and, it provides a platform for Zimbabwe to market trade and investment opportunities, as well, as position the country as a destination market for tourists from across the world. 

The Expo will be held under the theme “Designing future societies for our lives.” 

A Media Engagement Forum on Zimbabwe’s participation at Osaka Expo Osaka 2025 was held yesterday in Harare. The Expo is expected to attract over 28.2 million visitors and Zimbabwe will participate under the theme, “Beyond the Limits.” 

In 2020, when the Covid-19 pandemic was raging worldwide, forcing humankind to face an unprecedented crisis. As a result of this pandemic, the world is faced with new challenges, such as; the fragmentation of interactions among nations and people, they need to reconstruct environments and various social systems, and changes in values and lifestyles. 

These circumstances require bringing together the wisdom of the world and lead the way to swift solutions. 

The theme, “Designing Future Society for Our Lives”, makes individuals think how they want to live and how they can maximise their potential. This theme also aims to drive co-creation by the international community in designing a sustainable society that supports individuals’ ideas of how they want to live.

The Expo is taking place at a time when new social challenges, including expanding economic gaps and heightened conflicts, are emerging, while science technologies are evolving, including AI and biotechnology, that will present changes to humankinds, for example, extended life spans. 

Saving Lives, Empowering Lives, and Connecting Lives are the three subthemes of the Expo.