Abdullah Bin Zayed visits UAE Pavilion at Expo 2010

Shanghai: Shaikh Abdullah Bin Zayed Al Nahyan, Minister of Foreign Affairs, expressed interest in promoting the UAE's presence at international exhibitions during a visit to the UAE pavilion at the Expo 2010 being held in Shanghai.

Shaikh Abdullah was accompanied by Saqr Gobash Saeed Gobash, Minister of Labour and Chairman of the National Media Council (NMC), Ali Al Bitar, UAE Ambassador to China, and others.

During the tour, Shaikh Abdullah stressed President His Highness Shaikh Khalifa Bin Zayed Al Nahyan and His Highness Shaikh Mohammad Bin Rashid Al Maktoum, Vice-President and Prime Minister of the UAE and Ruler of Dubai's interest in presenting the UAE's achievements at international exhibitions.

Shaikh Abdullah said, "The UAE's participation at Expo 2010 reflects its strong interest in promoting relations with peoples of the world" as it provides a platform for building bridges between the UAE and the rest of the world.

Shaikh Abdullah expressed hopes the UAE pavilion at Expo 2010 would further political, economic and cultural relations with China.

Good performance

He applauded the efforts of the NMC which organises and oversees the UAE pavilion at the international event using the state-of-the-art interactive digital audio-video technologies to raise the profile of the UAE in this global gathering.

"The UAE pavilion could bring across the message to its visitors that the UAE is the place where dreams come true and where ambitions know no limits," Shaikh Abdullah said.

The Dunes, as the UAE pavilion is known, covers 3,452 square metres and encloses approximately 3,900 square metres of exhibition space, information areas, and other facilities.

Shaikh Abdullah watched three short documentaries on the evolution and the rapid growth of the UAE in the past six decades.

The documentaries show the unprecedented population and urban growth and the staggering pace of development that have shaped the identity of the UAE.

Interaction

Later, Shaikh Abdullah, accompanied by other UAE officials, toured the pavilions of Saudi Arabia, Oman, Bahrain and Qatar where he was accorded a warm welcome and briefed on the evolution of sister Gulf countries.

Shaikh Abdullah also met with volunteers from Takatof, a social volunteering programme affiliated with The Emirates Foundation, who are working at the UAE pavilion at the Shanghai fair.

At the meeting with the 20 male and female volunteers, Shaikh Abdullah expressed confidence that the UAE youth are capable of drawing attention of the rest of the world to the rapid growth and development taking place in their home country.