Abdul-Aziz Al-Hashimi, the Chargé d’affaires ai of the UAE hosted a presentation on Monday to mark the 413-days countdown to EXPO 2020, which will start in Dubai on 20 October 2020.
The participants included the government officials led by Murat Muradov, the head of the coordination department of the ministry of trade and foreign economic relations, the representatives of the Tekmil company which has designed the Turkmen pavilion for the Expo, and the members of the local and foreign media.
Here is the speech of Abdul-Aziz Al-Hashimi, the Chargé d’affaires:
I would like to thank the Government of Turkmenistan for participating in the Dubai Expo 2020. I also thank Mr.Myrad Myradov, representative of the ministry of trade and foreign economic relations, for the participation in the event on the occasion of the launch of the countdown in the UAE Diplomatic Mission in Turkmenistan.
Expo Dubai 2020 is an international exhibition held for the first time in the African, Middle Eastern and South Asian regions, and in connection with this, the UAE promised that it will be the best in history and will be held under the slogan “Connecting Minds, Creating the Future.”
Over the course of our extraordinary journey of development over the past 50 years, we, the UAE, have demonstrated to the world all the achievements that can be gained by combining the vision and determination.
Through the Expo 2020 Dubai, we strive to play an important role to inspire the next generation of creativity and innovation that will shape the progress of humanity over the next 50 years.
We have gathered today at the diplomatic mission of the United Arab Emirates in Ashgabat to announce, in cooperation with our friends in Turkmenistan the launching of countdown to the start of this grand and important event that will benefit everyone.
This event is a cultural, civilized, and creative meeting at all levels with the participation of 200 international participants, including countries and international organizations, as well as international companies. We expect more than 25 million visitors to attend this event and 70% of them will be visitors from outside the UAE.
This event will also be the most intelligent (smart) event since the first world exhibition, which was held in London in 1851.
nCa Commentary
The Expo 2020 Dubai’s theme, “Connecting Minds, Creating the Future”, will provide a platform to foster creativity, innovation, and collaboration globally. It is based on the belief that sharing innovative ideas and building partnerships will inspire the way we shape our future in the most positive way possible.
By the time the Expo starts in October next year, the technologies would have advanced further, and we hope that the uncertainties facing this part of the world would have reached some kind of closure.
This mega event affords the sense of continuity for Central Asia because the Expo 2017 was hosted by Kazakhstan in Astana. The theme of the Expo 2017 was “Future Energy.”
The theme of the Expo 2020 – ‘Connecting Minds, Creating the Future’ – broadens the horizon, building on the momentum gained at the Expo in Astana.
It is important to mention here that the Middle East, of which UAE is an important part, was always in the continental territory called the Great Silk Road.
The Silk Road was more than just a trading network; it was the vehicle for moving the ideas across the lands. As such, the Expo 2020 in Dubai with its motto of ‘Connecting Minds, Creating the Future’ is aligned with the spirit of the Silk Road.
Going forward, Central Asia knows that innovation is not just the end product; it is the entire process leading to that end product. As such, the Expo 2020 will be an occasion to observe as to how the process of innovation is shaping our future and how can the region benefit from it.
Equally important is the fact that Central Asia, with its strategic location, is at the crossroads of several trade and communications corridors. The Expo in Dubai will be an ideal venue for promoting these corridors and for brainstorming with the rest of the world as to how a comprehensive integration can be achieved by combining the shared knowledge base and the human and material assets.
It is necessary to underline that Expo 2020 in Dubai would be a set of enormous opportunities which the region cannot afford to miss.
As Shakespeare says:
There is a tide in the affairs of men,
Which, taken at the flood, leads on to fortune. /// nCa, 3 September 2019