The exhibition will be an opportunity for the international promotion of Slovenia, in particualr of its business, tourism, culture and sport, the ministry's secretary Eva Štravs Podlogar told the press on Friday.

The pavilion's concept marks the first phase of Slovenia's presentation, which will be featured in one of the event's three large pavilions focusing on sustainability, with the other two main themes being mobility and opportunity.

The selected concept of a three-storied structure was created by the architecture firm Magnet Design and will present Slovenia as a green oasis in Europe as well as in the desert during the exhibition, held in the United Arab Emirates.

The ground floor's theme will be water, presenting the country's sea, rivers, lakes, and particularly drinking water.

Water will be surrounding the central part or a market with the four cardinal points marked on the floor, representing Slovenia's position at the nexus of transport routes.

The first floor will be showcasing Slovenia's forests, with green plants climbing the wooden rim of the structure. The plants will be kept cold and hydrated during the event, providing cooling refreshment for visitors.

This 550 m2-sized floor is designed to be the pavilion's area for larger presentations, having the capacity of welcoming 150-200 people at once.

The second floor, intended for VIP visitors, will be presenting the Slovenian economy. The pavilion's roof is set to be designed as a sieve, to honour the long tradition of making wooden ware products in the town of Ribnica, in the south of Slovenia.

Wooden sieves and other Ribnica wooden crafts were the first Slovenian products that were given the green light to be sold abroad by a license issued 400 years ago.

The pavilion's construction works should be finished by this October, with the structure and presentation programme being ready for the event's opening in October 2020.

The Slovenian exhibition area, including the 15m-high pavilion, will be situated near to one of the main entries to the fair.

The total costs of the country's participation at Expo 2020 are estimated at EUR 9.7m. The government approved the project on Wednesday, including it among the country's confirmed development programmes.

Expo 2020 will open on 20 October 2020 and run until 10 April 2021 under the slogan Connecting Minds, Creating the Future.

More than 190 countries and some 27 million visitors are expected to participate in the event.

The international exposition is held every five years, with the last one being in Milan. Slovenia's presentation in 2015 was considered successful, attracting some million visitors. Its costs totalled EUR 5m.

The 2015 pavilion, named Expano, has been moved to Murska Sobota (NE), where it is set to be used as a regional promotional centre. It is scheduled to be officially opened on Friday.