Dubai

Dubai is progressing well in the lead-up to the World Expo 2020 as far as its first year of preparations are concerned, said Italian Consul-General Giovanni Favilli, whose country is hosting the world fair next year.

Italy, the host of the Expo Milano 2015, last year backed Dubai’s bid for the World Expo 2020. It made its support official earlier this year when the two countries, the UAE and Italy, signed an agreement to collaborate and strategically cooperate on Expo coordination, making it a “bridge between the two Expos”.

“Milan five years ago is behind where Dubai is now. Dubai now is closer to reaching its target [for the World Expo 2020] than Milan was five years ago,” Favilli told Gulf News.

The agreement between two countries facilitates a knowledge transfer for the hosting of the Expo, which is a complex and multifaceted operation. Last week, the Expo Milano 2015 organisers invited the Expo 2020 Dubai team to Italy for an Observation Programme.

The UAE Consul-General to Milan and representatives from the Roads and Transport Authority, Dubai Police, Dubai World Trade Centre, Dubai Municipality and the Expo 2020 Dubai Bureau, observed and examined how the Milan team has prepared for and will execute the six-month event starting May 1, 2015.

Expo Milano 2015 has spent the last six years preparing for the exhibition and the Dubai team was given an opportunity to get a behind-the-scenes look of the large-scale global event.

“Milan is much closer to the actual start of the Expo which is starting on May 1, 2015. So the recent months have been going on, at best, at a really fast speed because there had been some delays so there was a need to catch up. But things are going fast now and everything will be ready for next May,” Favilli said.

Favilli lauded Dubai’s progress in creating a road map to the Expo that’s happening six years from now.

“I believe that Dubai is on the right track. Dubai is a city with a vision so the preparation is moving ahead with the idea of having everything ready one year before the actual Expo. I believe Dubai will keep its promise and keep this forward-looking vision,” Favilli said.

“I have great trust in the authorities of Dubai, the people who are working on the project, and in this typical method of Dubai, which is the one of choosing the best people, the best consultants to deliver on time and with the best results.”

But the best time for the knowledge transfer is still to come, he said. The preparations are one part, the execution is another.

“The most important thing is when two companies, two administrations work together, they can learn how to promote the venue, regulate the excess, how to organise public transport, and how to welcome foreign delegations. But the bulk of the ‘lessons learnt’ aspect will be right after the Expo when the Expo in Milan is over. That would be the time to see what went well and what went not so well.”