UAE presents bid to host World Expo 2020

The United Arab Emirates gave a detailed presentation on its bid to host the World Expo 2020. The UAE s Higher Committee for Hosting the World Expo 2020 gave the presentation during a meeting with the Bureau International des Expositions (BIE) in Paris yesterday, according to the UAE daily (Gulf News). The move is part of a nationwide campaign to rally support for the UAE to win the bid to host one of the largest exhibition in the world. The UAE committee informed the members of BIE, comprised of 160 member countries, on the UAE s dossier covering planned preparations and procedures for hosting the event. Shaikh Ahmad Bin Saeed Al Maktoum, President of Dubai Civil Aviation and Chairman and Chief Executive of Emirates Airline and Group and Chairman of the Committee, said: "We are optimistic about UAE s chances to host the world s largest exhibition."  He expressed his satisfaction with the positive response from majority of BIE members, who expressed their appreciation for the prominent role the UAE plays in the international and regional arenas, and expressed their admiration for the achievements it made in various levels which placed it among fastest growing countries and qualify it to occupy a prestigious regional status as one of the influential countries in the Middle East. Reem Al Hashemi, Minister of State and Managing Director of the UAE Higher Committee, said that the UAE has selected for its bid the slogan "Connecting Minds, Creating the Future". "Hosting EXPO 2020 in Dubai is a priority for our people and for our country, and would be a natural progression for us, consistent with our country s vision for the future," she said. "If hosted in Dubai, World EXPO 2020 would be the first EXPO in the Middle East, Africa and the Subcontinent, giving the International Exhibitions Bureau (BIE)) and EXPO 2020 participants unprecedented access to a uniquely global World EXPO. The UAE wants to bring EXPO to the world   and the world to Dubai s EXPO 2020," she said. She said that the slogan reflects the UAE s firm belief that the path towards a bright future is based on positive interaction and constructive partnership in order to enhance human interaction among all peoples of the world. Dubai is competing with four other cities, namely Sao Paulo (Brazil), Ayutthaya (Thailand), Izmir (Turkey), Ekaterinburg (Russia). (