Dubai, UAE; June 12, 2013: His Highness Sheikh Mohammed bin Rashid Al Maktoum, Vice-President and Prime Minister of the UAE and Ruler of Dubai, today led a delegation that unveiled one of Dubai Expo 2020?s flagship initiatives, Expo Live, in a presentation to the 166 member nations of the Bureau International des Expositions (BIE) in Paris. As per His direction, and as part of the unveiling, HRH Princess Haya Bint Al Hussein, wife of HH Sheikh Mohammed, highlighted, under the bid?s overarching theme, Connecting Minds, Creating the Future, the importance of partnerships, and what will be the foundation and the legacy of Dubai Expo 2020.
In attendance were His Highness Sheikh Mohammed bin Rashid Al Maktoum, Vice-President and Prime Minister of the UAE and Ruler of Dubai; HH Sheikh Abdullah bin Zayed Al Nahyan; UAE Minister of Foreign Affairs; HH Sheikh Hamdan bin Mohammed bin Rashid Al Maktoum, Crown Prince of Dubai; as well as the Higher Committee for Dubai Expo 2020, led by HH Sheikh Ahmed bin Saeed Al Maktoum. Building on the bid?s theme of partnership, Expo Live will start to deliver on the promise and power of global collaboration as early as 2014. Expo Live will make Dubai Expo 2020 not just a global showcase event, but also a powerful engine of innovation for future progress. The presentation explained how Expo Live will challenge the world to identify the greatest global issues for the 21st century across the three Dubai Expo 2020 sub-themes of Mobility, Sustainability and Opportunity. By doing so, Expo Live will bring to life the aspirations of the bid?s overarching theme, Connecting Minds, Creating the Future, and create a concrete programme for partnership and innovation with the Expo Partnership Fund of 100 million Euros. The fund will accelerate entrepreneurial spirit around the world and support projects of varying size, scale and stages of development; all with the same objective of delivering a lasting and positive impact. Partnerships will be facilitated between people and organisations all around the globe to deliver solutions before, during and after the six-month World Expo. The resulting ideas and innovations will be showcased during the Dubai Expo 2020 itself ? demonstrating the message that ?together we can accomplish more?. Her Royal Highness Princess Haya told the delegates at the 153rd BIE General Assembly that the UAE?s dramatic transformation in the past 40 years was led by a vision, by hard work and, most important of all, by partnership ? and that it is the promise of partnership with each BIE member nation that Dubai Expo 2020 will deliver. Drawing on the UAE?s history and heritage, Dubai Expo 2020 will create a living example of what can be achieved when talents, ambitions and passions are pooled together. She added that the spirit of partnership is where World Expos draw their greatest strengths ? the connections they make, the people they inspire and the future they build. In turn, Dubai and the UAE will be enriched by the Expo values, uniting the region and the world with the first World Exposition held in the Middle East, North Africa and South Asia region ? and enhanced by the joyful national celebrations of the UAE?s 50th anniversary. Dubai Expo 2020 would be the most international World Expo in the 169-year history of the event. Thanks to the UAE?s unmatched infrastructure, strategic geographic positioning and global connectivity, the 2020 World Expo in Dubai will attract an estimated 25 million visitors. 70 per cent of these attendees would come from outside the country ? the first time in World Expo history that a majority of visitors originate from outside the host nation. During the General Assembly, bidding cities were informed of the results of the BIE Enquiry Missions conducted earlier this year to assess the feasibility of each candidate city and nation. The BIE General Assembly formally adopted the candidature of the United Arab Emirates, having met the required criteria. The UAE?s Enquiry Mission took place in February and was commended for the level of national support, as well as for the strength and vision of its bid in line with the traditions and values of World Expo. In accordance with BIE regulations, every country must submit an aid package as part of their file. The UAE presented a development assistance package of 150 million euros ensuring strong representation for all developing nations. The final presentation will be held in November 2013 at the next BIE General Assembly and the winner will be announced following a vote by the member nations. At the outset, Reem Al Hashimy, UAE Minister of State and Managing Director of the Higher Committee for Hosting the 2020 World Expo in Dubai, introduced HRH Princess Haya Bint Al Hussein, wife of Vice President and Prime Minister of the UAE and Ruler of Dubai His Highness Sheikh Mohammed bin Rashid Al Maktoum. Following is the full speech of Reem Al Hshimy:Mr President, Mr Secretary General, Your Excellencies, Members of the BIE, ladies and gentlemen ''As a testament to the incredible momentum and profound meaning of the World Expo in our country, we are truly honored to have with us today His Highness Sheikh Mohammed bin Rashid al Maktoum, Vice President and Prime Minister of the United Arab Emirates and Ruler of Dubai,Her Royal Highness Princess Haya Bint Al Hussein, wife of His Highness Sheikh Mohammed Bin Rashid Al MaktoumHH Sheikh Abdullah bin Zayed Al Nahyan, Minister of Foreign AffairsHH Sheikh Hamdan bin Mohammed bin Rashid Al Maktoum, Crown Prince of Dubaias well as the Higher Committee for Dubai Expo 2020, led by HH Sheikh Ahmed bin Saeed Al Maktoum. In the past year and a half, we have presented our case. We have demonstrated that Dubai Expo 2020 will be a truly global Expo attracting the most international audience and one of the most diverse groups of participants in history. Just last year, Dubai Airport served 58 million passengers. By 2020, this number is expected to grow to over 100 million passengers a year.Similarly, Emirates Airline with its already expansive network is expected to grow to 70 million passengers across 170 direct destinations by 2020. Last year alone, it opened 15 new routes to cities around the world. We have also demonstrated our capacity to deliver on complex and innovative architectural projects and to create world-renowned must-see destinations. Our Expo will provide the same magnetism for visitors, giving unprecedented visibility to each of your countries. We have showcased the uniqueness of our economic environment, the transparency of our regulatory framework and the strength of our international friendships. The BIE enquiry mission witnessed first-hand the readiness, the robustness and the global reach of our infrastructure, the safety and stability of our Nation and the total commitment of our leadership and our people. You will NOT find an easier place to build and operate your pavilion, to develop new links for your countries and your institutions, to contribute innovative content and to create a lasting impression on visitors from all walks of life. But today we want to move beyond these aspects and focus on a different story. One that is essential to create a meaningful legacy. It is a story of partnership. The partnerships that created our country and our city. Those that we continue to establish together across the world. And those that we hope to create through our Expo. If you take this path with us, these partnerships will be both the foundation and the legacy of Dubai Expo 2020.''It is now my deep privilege to introduce Her Royal Highness Princess Haya Bint Al Hussein. She is the daughter of His Majesty the Late King Hussein of Jordan, the wife of His Highness Sheikh Mohammed Bin Rashid Al Maktoum, and mother of two beautiful children. A former Olympic athlete, Her Royal Highness Princess Haya is also a United Nations Messenger of Peace, President of the International Equestrian Federation and a member of the International Olympic Committee. Princess Haya has always been a tremendous advocate for the creation of opportunity through education, nutrition, healthcare and sport and has been with us from the start of this journey. Taking the podium, Princess Haya bint Al Hussein, said in her speech;Excellences, Mesdames et Messieurs,The World Expo organisation was born from a desire for partnership. And it is from this spirit of partnership that Expo draws its greatest strength. The true legacy of any Expo is not in its physical buildings or monuments, but in the connections it makes, the people it inspires and the future it builds. World Expos have a remarkable ability to bring people together to discuss, engage and innovate. New models are showcased, new ideas are inspired and new partnerships are created. The theme of Dubai Expo 2020, Connecting Minds, Creating the Future is just such a pledge of partnership. It draws on the UAE?s past, our heritage and our successes. It highlights the fact that we are all united in destiny and outcome. This is the spirit in which the UAE was formed. These values laid the foundation for our Nation, and continue to drive our vision for the future. As a small country in a challenging region, we recognize only too well both the opportunity and the necessity of being innovative. To succeed we must challenge the conventional norm. We must seek new ways of doing things and of doing them in collaboration. Ever since the earliest days of the Federation, the UAE has invited the world to help create its future. I am proud to say that over the years, we have visited each and every country represented in this hall today. We have learnt from you. We have shared our story. And together we have developed means to strengthen our relationships. Together we have delivered some amazing and groundbreaking achievements. Achievements that have brought opportunity and benefits for all that have joined us. In Dubai, we have built a city that has become an incubator for new models and new ideas. There are many examples where partnerships have expanded the realm of all our possibilities. The following video showcases the type of collaboration and partnership - whether cultural, legal, or economic - that take place in Dubai every day. Today, we live in a world where our fates are interdependent, and so therefore must be our solutions. Our starting points may be different, but our aspirations - for my children, for your children - remain the same. UN Secretary General Ban-Ki Moon said recently:"We need to find linkages not just among policies, but between people We must create new constellations of partnerships and alliances to get things done. That is the most effective way to solve problems in our networked world."Through my own UN fieldwork and educational projects, I know that the focus must be on the ability to create opportunity; on how to feed and to educate families and communities. But this is not enough. What creates real progress is the ability to share opportunities through the mobility of people, goods and ideas; and the ability to sustain those opportunities for our children. This is the essence of our theme, Connecting Minds, Creating the Future. When we connect minds, when we partner, we can have a more lasting impact and stronger solutions. This is why we continue to seek new partnerships. I am proud to announce that we have joined the United Nations? Sustainable Development Solutions Network, which brings together public and private entities to deliver solutions to known challenges with new ways to collaborate. This partnership with Dubai Expo 2020 will further expand opportunities to work with communities across the world. Similarly as we have done throughout our history, in July 2012 we took to the sea. True North, the Dubai Expo 2020 boat, has already sailed over 40,000 km to connect with communities all over the world. It is a journey of learning and discovery about the wealth of human potential that inspires our Expo ambitions and motivates us to be the catalyst for real change. True North also exemplifies our ethos of listening and learning ? hearing first-hand what communities prioritize and how they believe their dreams can be achieved. The following film will demonstrate some of the partnerships that we have embarked upon over the last few years. The power of collaboration and its potential to create lasting impact has no limit. Together, over time, we have planted and nurtured the seeds of sustainable communities. But now, it is time for us to take the next step, together again .. Dubai Expo 2020 will gather one of the most diverse groups of partners ever assembled for a World Expo. Every nation will have the opportunity to showcase the best they have to offer. To this end, we have prepared an assistance package of 150 million Euros to ensure that every country has its own unique voice and its own individual pavilion. Each country deserves the right and the means to showcase its very best. We are committed to making this happen. Still, we want to achieve more:To give new meaning to the presence of all participants;And to develop a truly exceptional project that combines the global nature of Dubai with the power of Expo. We have designed an unprecedented innovation and partnership programme called Expo Live. Expo Live has its roots in the Great Exhibitions that brought something new to the world: objects, ideas and knowledge that have forever changed our perspectives. They opened the door to the unknown. They challenged nations, industries and budding entrepreneurs alike, to design, to create and to explore. Expo Live is a call to action to make the World Expo an engine for global innovation. In fact, as some of you know, we have already started and our recent workshops will ultimately culminate in the Innovation Labs and Pavilions of Dubai 2020.''Copyright Emirates News Agency (WAM) 2013.
