DUBAI – A high-level delegation from Luxembourg – including high-ranking members of its Royal Family – is visiting Dubai to meet Expo 2020 organisers and the business community, as part of plans to maximise its EUR 25 million (AED 108 million) investment in the next World Expo.

As part of the visit, Her Excellency Maggy Nagel, General Commissioner of the Luxembourg Pavilion and President of the Board of Management of Luxembourg @ Expo 2020 Dubai and Najeeb Al-Ali, Executive Director, Dubai Expo 2020 Bureau, yesterday (11 October) signed Luxembourg’s Official Participation Contract for Expo 2020 Dubai.

Luxembourg is the first country to formally sign a participation contract, although some 120 nations have either publicly or privately confirmed they will take part in Expo 2020 Dubai, which will be the first World Expo in the Middle East, Africa and South Asia (MEASA) region.

The signing of the contract comes after Luxembourg received approval from Expo 2020 Dubai for the theme and location of its national pavilion. The theme – ‘Resourceful Luxembourg’ – aims to reflect the landlocked country’s status as a smart nation that looks abroad to connect the human, natural, technical, industrial and financial resources it needs to shape its future.

Luxembourg has announced that it will invest 25 million Euros (AED 108 million) in its Expo participation and the delegation is spearheading plans to further enhance the political and economic ties it enjoys with the UAE, as well as maximising benefits before, during and after Expo 2020 Dubai.

Among those joining HE Maggy Nagel on the delegation are His Royal Highness Prince Guillaume, Crown Prince of Luxembourg; Her Royal Highness Princess Stéphanie, Crown Princess of Luxembourg; His Excellency Etienne Schneider, Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of the Economy; His Excellency François Bausch, Minister of Sustainable Development and Infrastructure; and Her Excellency Elisabeth Cardoso Jordão, Ambassador of Luxembourg in the United Arab Emirates.

His Highness Sheikh Ahmed bin Saeed Al Maktoum, Chairman of the Expo 2020 Dubai Higher Committee, said: “The signing of Luxembourg’s official participation contract is yet another important milestone on our journey to Expo 2020 Dubai and beyond. Luxembourg was one of the first nations to publicly commit to participating in Expo, so we are delighted that they are also the first to sign a participation contract.

“We look forward to working closely with all stakeholders in Luxembourg as their theme and pavilion take shape, and the even stronger bilateral relations that their participation at Expo 2020 Dubai will create between the UAE and Luxembourg.

“With so many countries having either publicly or privately confirmed their participation, we are on track to deliver our goal of hosting the most inclusive World Expo ever.”

His Excellency Etienne Schneider, said: “Our participation at Expo 2020 Dubai is in line with the continuing excellent relations between the UAE and Luxembourg.

“By promoting innovation and sustainable development, the profile of Expo 2020 fits perfectly with our national policy of economic diversification, in particularly with regard to the space sector, clean technologies and to information and communication technologies.

“Our participation at Expo is a unique opportunity for making the Grand Duchy of Luxembourg and all its economic

advantages even better known on the international scene, and more particularly in the Middle East.”

The spiral-shaped Luxembourg Pavilion, which is inspired by a Möbius strip, will be located in the Opportunity District. It will contain an exhibition space, a multi-purpose area, a restaurant, administrative offices and technical facilities.

The design and architecture will focus on the issues related to resources, both in a wider sense and in detail, by relying on the principles of the circular economy and interconnection. It will illustrate Luxembourg’s ambition, promoting the country’s ability to reinvent itself and its commitment to sustainable growth.

The design was chosen following an open tender process where teams of architects, engineers and scenographers were asked to provide a holistic view of Luxembourg embedded in the theme ‘Resourceful Luxembourg’.

The tender process ended in April 2017 and architects Metaform and the scenographers from The Space Factory were later appointed to design the pavilion.

Her Excellency Maggy Nagel, added: “It is a great honour for the Grand Duchy to be the first country to sign the participation contract for Expo 2020 Dubai.

“The exciting journey towards Expo 2020 continues and we look forward to contributing to the success of Expo with our pavilion and “Resourceful Luxembourg” theme. It will be a tremendously enriching experience for people of all ages to envision and create the future together.”

As well as members of the Royal Family and representatives of the government and Luxembourg @ Expo 2020 Dubai, the authority in charge of its participation, the delegation also includes members of Luxembourg’s business community, who are attending a business event focused on the opportunities at Expo 2020 Dubai.

Luxembourg and the UAE enjoy strong bilateral relations and have signed a number of memoranda of understanding and cooperative agreements in the areas of space exploration, financial services and non-oil trade.  

Both countries play an important role in global finance, with Dubai, Abu Dhabi and Luxembourg all ranked in the world’s top 25 financial centres in the latest Global Financial Centres Index, published in September 2017. The index ranks the competitiveness of financial centres around the world, reflecting the UAE and Luxembourg’s prominence and both countries’ focus on developing their strong financial service sectors.

Expo 2020 Dubai, under its theme of ‘Connecting Minds, Creating the Future’, will be a celebration of ingenuity that provides a platform to encourage creativity, innovation and collaboration, underpinned by its three pillars: Opportunity, Mobility and Sustainability.

Expo 2020 opens on 20 October 2020 and closes six months later, on 10 April 2021. More than 180 countries are expected to participate, with further national participation announcements expected in the coming months.

About Expo 2020

Expo 2020 Dubai is guided by the belief that innovation and progress are the result of people and ideas combining in new ways. Over the course of six months from October 2020, Expo aims to bring together hundreds of countries and millions of people to celebrate human ingenuity: ‘Connecting Minds; Creating the Future’.

  • Between its opening day on 20 October 2020, and its close on 10 April 2021, it is expected that Expo will be visited by millions of people.
  • 70% of all visitors are expected to come from outside the UAE - the largest proportion of international visitors in Expo history.
  • The goal is to create and deliver an inclusive and global Expo with over 200 participants, including nations, multilateral organisations, businesses and educational institutions.
  • Expo 2020 also has an ambitious volunteer programme, which aims to include more than 30,000 volunteers from a wide range of ages, nationalities and cultures and backgrounds.
  • The Expo site covers a total of 4.38 sq. km, including a 2 sq. km gated area. It is located within the Dubai South District, adjacent to Al Maktoum International Airport.

Visit: www.expo2020dubai.ae

Follow: Twitter: @expo2020dubai | Facebook: @Expo2020Dubai | Instagram: expo2020dubai

For Expo 2020 Dubai media enquiries, please contact:
Jon Bramley
Director – Editor-in-Chief (English)
Email: jon.bramley@expo2020dubai.ae
Tel: + 971 52 757 9993
P.O. Box 2020, Dubai, UAE

Shady Abdel Hamid
Account Director
Email: Expo2020uae@brunswickgroup.com
Tel: +971 52 495 7284

© Press Release 2017