Israel plans to dedicate its pavilion at Expo 2020 Dubai on Wednesday, with several ministers present.
The pavilion marks the first time Israel has participating in such a major event in an Arab country. The United Arab Emirates invited Israel to take part in 2018, before the Abraham Accords that established peace and diplomatic relations between the countries.
Expo 2020 is the third largest event in the world, following the Olympic Games and the World Cup, with 191 countries participating for six months. The number of visitors expected is over 25 million, with some 15 million anticipated to visit the Israel pavilion.
The Foreign Ministry and Prime Minister’s Office led the team establishing the Israel pavilion, which included 17 ministries, the Jewish National Fund and Israel Electric Company.
Tourism Minister Yoel Razvozov plans to launch the pavilion on Wednesday, and Interior Minister Ayelet Shaked and Environmental Protection Minister Tamar Zandberg are also in Dubai for the event.The Israel pavilion was created by the AVS company, under the stewardship of Israel’s Expo 2020 Commissioner-General Elazar Cohen.The pavilion’s theme is “connecting thoughts – creating the future,” and its title, featuring prominently in its design in Hebrew and Arabic is “To Tomorrow.”
The design is inspired by the desert dunes in Israel and the UAE. It is completely open on two ends, without doors, meant to show openness and allow even those who do not visit to see Israel’s content.
“The design reflects the concept that the power of the future connects us and that creating a better future for all of humanity is within reach if we connect minds and unite forces,” the official government statement on the pavilion explained.
Among the topics featured in the pavilion are opportunity, mobility and sustainability, and Israel plans to share its capabilities in agriculture, cybersecurity, medical equipment, water technology and more. The pavilion will host economic events, conferences and business meetings, and dozens of business delegations from Israel and around the world are expected to visit.
Zandberg led an Israeli delegation to the Dubai Expo's Climate and Biodiversity Week, which began on Monday, and called on countries to use the event as an opportunity to establish ties with Israel.
The Environmental Protection Minister said that peace between countries in the region can lead to technological breakthroughs and economic growth that will improve the lives of billions of people.
"I call on all the countries in the region, including countries with which we still do not have official relations, to use Expo Dubai as a diving board into cooperation that is so critical to our shared future," she stated.
As for the environment, Zandberg said: "I expect and hope to cooperate with the UAE and all the countries that signed the Abraham Accords in many areas, including preparation for the climate crisis. Trillions of dollars will be invested in the area of climate in the coming decade, and the countries at the forefront of environmental innovation today will be in a good position to fulfill a leading role in the upcoming global climate change. That is the message of our delegation."
Zandberg held a working meeting with her Emirati counterpart Mariam bint Mohammed Saeed Hareb Almheiri at the Israel pavilion on Tuesday, in which they followed up on a cooperation agreement signed in July.
Shaked also plans to visit the Israel Pavilion at the Dubai Expo, which she called “an excellent platform to leverage connections and develop new economic opportunities between Israel, the UAE and the whole world.”