Douro municipalities promote region’s potential at Expo Dubai
Three municipalities from Douro Superior, in northern Portugal, hailed their promotional event in the Portugal Pavilion a success, and highlighted “important” contacts with international investors, who showed interest in local products like olive oil.
The Douro Superior delegation – made up of the municipalities of Freixo de Espada à Cinta, Torre de Moncorvo and Carrazeda de Ansiães, in the district of Bragança – marked their presence at the Portugal Pavilion at Expo 2020 Dubai, where they showcased local delicacies such as olive oil, apples, natural silk and almonds.
For the mayor of Freixo de Espada à Cinta, one of the main goals was to show in this world event that Portugal is much more than Lisbon and Porto, because there is “an interior of the country to discover”.
“During the seminar we held at the Portugal Pavilion, we made this very clear to all the investors. When it comes to the municipality of Freixo de Espada à Cinta, the region’s natural silk definitely stood out and we have already scheduled meetings via zoom or in person, which should take place in the very near future”, stressed the mayor.
Nuno Ferreira also said that the silk produced in the municipality of Freixo de Espada à Cinta “has been elevated to the level of Portuguese filigree”, now being part of the permanent exhibition collection of the Portugal Pavilion. “A quilt made from 100% natural silk that is over a hundred years old and was handcrafted by local weavers has become part of the permanent exhibition at Expo Dubai. The piece is about two meters high and 1.50 meters wide and was on display at the Museum of Silk and Territory, where it will return”, he highlighted.
The municipality of Carrazeda de Ansiães took the opportunity to promote its tourist attractions during the event, as well as regional products like apples, the Ansiães plateau, wine and olive oil from the Douro and Tua valleys, highlighting the unique attributes of the different services, products and contacts.
“It was an excellent initiative that allowed us to take the name of Carrazeda de Ansiães to thousands of people at the largest world exhibition”, according to João Gonçalves, the municipality’s mayor.
“If at the beginning we had 30 investors, this number increased over the two days [at Expo]. There was even an Italian investor who was interested in getting to know the olive oil produced in Douro Superior, which is a product common to the three municipalities that participated in the initiative”, he stressed.
Lusa