The bare exterior draped in greenery of the Colombia Pavilion at Expo 2020 Dubai may give the impression of a work in progress, and that is exactly the effect its designers had in mind.
To reflect the status of the nation, a sleeping giant in flux towards change, the three-tier white metallic structure leaves much to the imagination.
But venture inside, and from sweet aromas of fresh coffee served by Colombian baristas on the ground floor to the virtual salsa classes and drumming lessons on floor three, the visitor experience is one to savour.
We want to change the image of Colombia, as most people have no idea what our country is about except from this vision expressed on Netflix
Juan Pablo Cavelier,
the pavilion’s commissioner general
“The architecture of our pavilion gives the message we are an evolving country,” said Juan Pablo Cavelier, the pavilion’s commissioner general.
“It is not under construction, but we are continuing to grow. That is what Colombia is all about.
“Colombia is a growing nation and will be the third fastest growing country in Latin America after Chile and Peru. We are above Brazil and Mexico, which tells you a lot.
“Our country is an incredible place, but largely unknown, and we want people to see our pavilion and leave with an ambition to visit Colombia.”
The pavilion is one of the more fun to visit, with interactive, immersive virtual tours of the nation’s beautiful landscapes revealing secrets of the vast nation on the north-western tip of South America that is home to 50 million.
Coffee is crucial to the national economy; Colombia is the third-largest global exporter behind Brazil and Vietnam.
It is also the largest producer of emeralds, and the second-largest exporter of flowers.
Pavilion visitors take a tour through Colombia’s six macro-regions, and experience a taste of its extraordinarily diverse landscapes, tourism attractions and investment opportunities.
But Netflix crime dramas featuring Colombian drug cartels and the life story of the notorious criminal Pablo Escobar have not helped the nation’s reputation overseas, Mr Cavelier said.
“We want to change the image of Colombia, as most people have no idea what our country is about except from this vision expressed on Netflix,” he said.
“Colombia has an unfair reputation, not just because of Netflix, but it comes from being unknown. We have the second-largest Hispanic population after Mexico.
“It is a safe place to visit, and has many hidden jewels because of the variety of the landscape and climates.
“There is a subtle message that we are in industrial nation with huge cities like Bogota, Cali and Medellin.
“People are surprised by Bogota; it is a huge metropolis. Come and discover Colombia. It will amaze you.
“Our coffee is special because it is grown on the hillside and picked by hand, so it does not have that bitterness.
“As you fly over Medellin you can see the beautiful fields of flowers. It is quite a sight.
“We want to increase our presence in the UAE and export more of our grass fed meat here. We have so much space, it is truly free-range.”
Colombia’s president, Ivan Duque is due to visit the UAE and his country’s pavilion on November 5-6, to establish new business links and bilateral relations.
“We have pure honey and honey with fruits from the Caribbean side of Colombia,” said Laura Torres Toro, who is selling produce at the pavilion.
“Our black tea is infused with mango, but the chocolate we sell is the most popular.
“It has blackberry, cinnamon and blueberry. People are coming back and we are busy most days, so that is a good sign for us.”
Chocolate, coffee, honey and tea are on sale inside the pavilion’s branch of Evok, a farmer-focused retailer in Medellin.
Hydrogen-powered car at the Slovakia pavilion - in pictures
Naga
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Name: Peter Dicce
Title: Assistant dean of students and director of athletics
Favourite sport: soccer
Favourite team: Bayern Munich
Favourite player: Franz Beckenbauer
Favourite activity in Abu Dhabi: scuba diving in the Northern Emirates
How to wear a kandura
Dos
- Wear the right fabric for the right season and occasion
- Always ask for the dress code if you don’t know
- Wear a white kandura, white ghutra / shemagh (headwear) and black shoes for work
- Wear 100 per cent cotton under the kandura as most fabrics are polyester
Don’ts
- Wear hamdania for work, always wear a ghutra and agal
- Buy a kandura only based on how it feels; ask questions about the fabric and understand what you are buying
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The%20specs
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THE SPECS
Engine: 1.5-litre turbocharged four-cylinder
Transmission: Constant Variable (CVT)
Power: 141bhp
Torque: 250Nm
Price: Dh64,500
On sale: Now
UAE v Gibraltar
What: International friendly
When: 7pm kick off
Where: Rugby Park, Dubai Sports City
Admission: Free
Online: The match will be broadcast live on Dubai Exiles’ Facebook page
UAE squad: Lucas Waddington (Dubai Exiles), Gio Fourie (Exiles), Craig Nutt (Abu Dhabi Harlequins), Phil Brady (Harlequins), Daniel Perry (Dubai Hurricanes), Esekaia Dranibota (Harlequins), Matt Mills (Exiles), Jaen Botes (Exiles), Kristian Stinson (Exiles), Murray Reason (Abu Dhabi Saracens), Dave Knight (Hurricanes), Ross Samson (Jebel Ali Dragons), DuRandt Gerber (Exiles), Saki Naisau (Dragons), Andrew Powell (Hurricanes), Emosi Vacanau (Harlequins), Niko Volavola (Dragons), Matt Richards (Dragons), Luke Stevenson (Harlequins), Josh Ives (Dubai Sports City Eagles), Sean Stevens (Saracens), Thinus Steyn (Exiles)
Killing of Qassem Suleimani
Ashes 2019 schedule
August 1-5: First Test, Edgbaston
August 14-18: Second Test, Lord's
August 22-26: Third Test, Headingley
September 4-8: Fourth Test, Old Trafford
September 12-16: Fifth Test, Oval
Jetour T1 specs
Engine: 2-litre turbocharged
Power: 254hp
Torque: 390Nm
Price: From Dh126,000
Available: Now
The specs
Engine: 2.0-litre 4cyl turbo
Power: 261hp at 5,500rpm
Torque: 405Nm at 1,750-3,500rpm
Transmission: 9-speed auto
Fuel consumption: 6.9L/100km
On sale: Now
Price: From Dh117,059
Profile box
Company name: baraka
Started: July 2020
Founders: Feras Jalbout and Kunal Taneja
Based: Dubai and Bahrain
Sector: FinTech
Initial investment: $150,000
Current staff: 12
Stage: Pre-seed capital raising of $1 million
Investors: Class 5 Global, FJ Labs, IMO Ventures, The Community Fund, VentureSouq, Fox Ventures, Dr Abdulla Elyas (private investment)
UPI facts
More than 2.2 million Indian tourists arrived in UAE in 2023
More than 3.5 million Indians reside in UAE
Indian tourists can make purchases in UAE using rupee accounts in India through QR-code-based UPI real-time payment systems
Indian residents in UAE can use their non-resident NRO and NRE accounts held in Indian banks linked to a UAE mobile number for UPI transactions
Gothia Cup 2025
4,872 matches
1,942 teams
116 pitches
76 nations
26 UAE teams
15 Lebanese teams
2 Kuwaiti teams
Key changes
Commission caps
For life insurance products with a savings component, Peter Hodgins of Clyde & Co said different caps apply to the saving and protection elements:
• For the saving component, a cap of 4.5 per cent of the annualised premium per year (which may not exceed 90 per cent of the annualised premium over the policy term).
• On the protection component, there is a cap of 10 per cent of the annualised premium per year (which may not exceed 160 per cent of the annualised premium over the policy term).
• Indemnity commission, the amount of commission that can be advanced to a product salesperson, can be 50 per cent of the annualised premium for the first year or 50 per cent of the total commissions on the policy calculated.
• The remaining commission after deduction of the indemnity commission is paid equally over the premium payment term.
• For pure protection products, which only offer a life insurance component, the maximum commission will be 10 per cent of the annualised premium multiplied by the length of the policy in years.
Disclosure
Customers must now be provided with a full illustration of the product they are buying to ensure they understand the potential returns on savings products as well as the effects of any charges. There is also a “free-look” period of 30 days, where insurers must provide a full refund if the buyer wishes to cancel the policy.
“The illustration should provide for at least two scenarios to illustrate the performance of the product,” said Mr Hodgins. “All illustrations are required to be signed by the customer.”
Another illustration must outline surrender charges to ensure they understand the costs of exiting a fixed-term product early.
Illustrations must also be kept updatedand insurers must provide information on the top five investment funds available annually, including at least five years' performance data.
“This may be segregated based on the risk appetite of the customer (in which case, the top five funds for each segment must be provided),” said Mr Hodgins.
Product providers must also disclose the ratio of protection benefit to savings benefits. If a protection benefit ratio is less than 10 per cent "the product must carry a warning stating that it has limited or no protection benefit" Mr Hodgins added.
PRESIDENTS CUP
Draw for Presidents Cup fourball matches on Thursday (Internationals first mention). All times UAE:
02.32am (Thursday): Marc Leishman/Joaquin Niemann v Tiger Woods/Justin Thomas
02.47am (Thursday): Adam Hadwin/Im Sung-jae v Xander Schauffele/Patrick Cantlay
03.02am (Thursday): Adam Scott/An Byeong-hun v Bryson DeChambeau/Tony Finau
03.17am (Thursday): Hideki Matsuyama/CT Pan v Webb Simpson/Patrick Reed
03.32am (Thursday): Abraham Ancer/Louis Oosthuizen v Dustin Johnson/Gary Woodland
