Today, in Paris, the UAE will lay out the overwhelming reasons why Dubai and the nation should host Expo 2020. While the actual awarding of Expo 2020 will not occur until November, today marks a keystone with the UAE delegation, led by His Highness Shaikh Mohammad Bin Rashid Al Maktoum, Vice-President and Prime Minister of the UAE and Ruler of Dubai, presenting its in-depth insight and analysis into the bid proposal.
Never before has Expo come to the Middle East — and never before has the Paris-based Bureau International des Expositions had such a comprehensive plan stating the case for a host city as that from the UAE and Dubai delegation.
Since its founding just over four decades ago, the UAE has grown into a vibrant and progressive nation, an economic powerhouse, a multicultural community, a nation that strives for excellence through visionary leadership. The UAE and Dubai bid, in Shaikh Mohammad’s own words, will “astonish the world”.
In Paris today, the UAE delegation will highlight that the Middle East is not a region of conflict and war. Instead, it will highlight that the UAE is a prosperous and peaceful nation built on the values of respect and cultural understanding, that many people from all corners or the world live and work together building a better future for all. And the UAE delegation will highlight that the nation has developed into an iconic economy where arts, technology, architecture, business, trade, health, education, culture, history, religion and geography are woven together in a fabric that is unparalleled elsewhere.
And the UAE will highlight that the site, equidistant between Dubai and Abu Dhabi, provides an ideal opportunity for the UAE and the world to see what can be achieved by a leadership, people and all threads of society working together.
For those of us who are fortunate enough to live in the UAE, we know that the delegation’s words are not hollow. We have the benefit and joy of seeing the UAE and Dubai thrive and prosper on a daily basis. The rest of the world should see it too.
