Dubai Expo 2020 Marks First BIE Assembly Engagement Since Winning Historic BID

HH Sheikh Ahmed bin Saeed Al Maktoum, Expo 2020 Preparatory Higher Committee Chairman, President of the Department of Civil Aviation and Chairman and Chief Executive of Emirates airline and Group, has officially led the UAE delegation to the General Assembly of the Bureau of International Expositions (BIE), the governing body of the World Expo.

It marked the first formal address to the General Assembly by the Expo 2020 Higher Preparatory Committee - which has been broadened to ensure a greater and more cohesive UAE wide delivery - since Dubai won the rights to host the mega event in November last year.

“The Dubai Expo 2020 roadmap is well progressed as we resolutely honour our commitment to create a truly transformative World Expo, that through partnerships and collaboration will seek to foster innovative, inspirational and practical solution-creation for our collective future,” said HH Sheikh Ahmed.

Addressing the BIE’s 168 member states, Her Excellency Al Hashimy, Minister of State and Member of the Preparatory Higher Committee, formally presented the UAE’s vision and an update on developments for hosting the event.

“Together, we have all made history and planted the seeds for the future. Dubai Expo 2020 will be the platform to continue to execute on our country’s visionary leadership around the need for connectivity and mobility, economic opportunity and sustainable practices as the pillars of today’s interdependent world,” said Her Excellency.

“The infrastructure and the progressive policies that serve this vision will continue to grow in size and quality to serve the participants and the visitors of Dubai Expo 2020. Our goal to deliver on an Expo with seamless operations will leverage the national efforts to implement a greater vision shaping the next 50 years of our country.”

During the speech in Paris, Her Excellency also reaffirmed the importance of staging Dubai Expo 2020, the first time the event will be held in the Middle East, North Africa and South Asia (MENASA), as being a win for the region as a whole.

“The tremendous support we received in November marked a significant victory, not only for us but for all countries across the Middle East, North Africa and South Asia. Our support base ranged from the countries of the North as well as the South – the East as well as the West,” added Her Excellency.

“This recognition furthers our commitment to develop an inclusive platform that allows our partners on this global stage to truly showcase the best they have to offer, and - in that journey - create linkages and partnerships with others.”

Her Excellency also stressed the importance of Dubai Expo 2020’s strong emphasis on developing partnerships and building around the theme to create a deep-rooted and lasting legacy.

“Connecting Minds, Creating the Future is already more than a theme. It has become a design principle of our Expo: for how we hope to engage with participants, to create opportunities for the public and the private sector to work together, for how we will strive to make collaboration an essential instrument to deliver a great event with the level of quality and impact we all seek in a World Expo.

“This vision will be woven throughout our entire project: spanning all of its components, physical and intangible. Collaboration and innovation are the cornerstones of the Master Plan and of Expo Live, both designed to foster inclusion and cooperation, to bring us closer together to showcase and to inspire solutions to our critical challenges. Our journey to achieve this has already begun. Since the decision to award the United Arab Emirates the honour to host the World Expo in 2020, we have been working tirelessly, on all fronts,” concluded Her Excellency.

Work across all facets of Dubai Expo 2020’s organisation, governance framework and site development are well progressed, as the Committee works towards the submission of the mandatory Registration Dossier by October 2015 to BIE – a legally binding document that will include more in-depth content across key topics presented in the Bid Document such as theme, communications programmes and the detailed master plan.

Once approved, Dubai Expo 2020 can commence formal engagement with the international participants, and begin construction at the Dubai Trade Centre-Jebel Ali site which will host the 25 million visitors expected at Dubai Expo 2020, running from 20 October 2020 – 10 April 2021.

Plans have been drafted with a target date for all major construction activities to be completed on site by October 2019, allowing for a full year of readiness testing across networks, systems and technologies.

Emirate:  Ajman

Date: Jun 11, 2014

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