The Division for Trade Fair Policy and EXPO Participations at the Federal Ministry of Economics and Technology

Responsibility for German pavilions at world exhibitions lies with the Division for Trade Fair Policy and EXPO Participations at the Federal Ministry of Economics and Technology. The head of the division, Dietmar Schmitz, is also Germany’s Commissioner General at EXPO 2010 in Shanghai, China, and therefore the country’s official representative. Mr Schmitz has been involved in world exhibitions since EXPO 1992 in Seville. The EXPO 2010 project is being managed by his colleague, Wolfgang Löffler, whose EXPO experience stretches right back as far as the 1986 World Fair in Vancouver.

As a delegate at the Paris-based Bureau International des Expositions (B.I.E.), which has been responsible for approving world exhibitions and handling the formalities since its creation back in 1928, Dietmar Schmitz represents Germany on the Bureau’s committees.

Besides managing EXPO pavilions, the division’s main task is to assist German companies, mostly small and medium-sized enterprises, participating in trade fairs and exhibitions abroad. The Federal Ministry’s international trade fair and exhibition programme provides businesses from Germany with an inexpensive way to exhibit at foreign fairs. These presentations of German companies usually take the form of joint “Made in Germany” stands. The Federal Ministry is planning 277 of these stands in 2009. By far the most important target region in the programme is Asia. 109 of the fairs in which the Federal Ministry is involved take place in Southeast, South, East and Central Asia and 48 of them are in China (including Hong Kong) alone.

The remit of the Division for Trade Fair Policy and EXPO Participations also includes a trade-fair participation programme for exports of products and technologies in the field of renewable energies and energy efficiency, which will involve 21 events in 2009.

2007 saw the launch of a programme aimed at promoting the participation of young, innovative companies in leading international fairs held in Germany. In 2009, around 40 such fairs will be included in the programme.

The division is engaged in an ongoing dialogue with partners from the business world, other divisions and international bodies to discuss key questions of national and international trade fair and exhibition policy.
 
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