UAE lobbying hard to get support for World Expo 2020

The UAE has been lobbying hard to get support to host World Expo 2020 in Dubai through interacting with diplomatic community as part of intensified efforts by the government and semi-government institutions.

Speaking at The Diplomatic Circle Dinner hosted by Dubai Chamber of Commerce and Industry (DCCI), Reem Ibrahim Al Hashimy, Minister of State and Managing Director of Dubai Expo 2020 Executive Bid Committee, urged the diplomatic community in the UAE to convey the message to their respective governments back home for its bid to host World Expo 2020.

 “The UAE's success has been built on an unwavering determination to create something positive in the region, for the region - this World Expo would be yet another manifestation of this noble premise,” Al Hashimy added.

“This part of the world is not only an emerging market, but its demographic is primarily young. The youth play a significant role in determining the fabric of the society, in all its aspects - political, cultural, and certainly commercial. Integrating such ideas and thoughts, and connecting with one another is a central element defining the prosperity of any society,” she said while addressing the diplomats in Dubai on Tuesday night.

However, she also highlighted the success and growth of Dubai making it an important contender for the World Expo 2020.

In November 2011, the UAE officially presented its bid to the Bureau International des Expositions (BIE) in Paris to host the World Expo in Dubai between January 4 and June 30, 2020.

The winner among the five candidate cities – which include Ayutthaya (Thailand); Ekaterinburg (Russia); Izmir (Turkey) and Sao Paulo (Brazil) – will be announced by the BIE following a vote by its 160 member nations in November 2013. This was the first visit by the BIE officials since the country submitted bid for the event.

A BIE delegation visited the UAE last month and held talks with various government officials. The UAE has proposed hosting the six-month expo at “Exhibition City,” a 400-hectare site to be constructed on the southwestern edge of Dubai, adjacent to Dubai World Central, home to Al Maktoum International Airport, which will host the 2013 Dubai Airshow.

“Dubai Expo 2020 will seek-out and attract forward thinkers and innovators to showcase great achievements, to promote new ideas and to share roadmaps for progress through customized exhibitions, pavilions and events,” Al Hashimy told diplomats.

“Dubai is a destination for millions - who either visit, or who live here. We want our Expo to hold true to the Dubai spirit, and make it your expo too,” she added.

The diplomats affirmed their preparedness to support the UAE bid and hailed Dubai's potentials to host World Expo 2020 given its outstanding potentials and its international prestigious reputation.

DCCI Director-General Hamad Buamim also highlighted the role Dubai has played as bridge over the years between East and West.

Buamim stressed that Dubai will achieve increasing growth rates in all sectors and fields in 2012 following a successful year of recovery in 2011 where the Dubai succeeded in achieving leadership in key growth sectors mainly trade, financial, logistics and tourist services for their role in leading growth.

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