Dubai presents Expo 2020 plans

AMMAN — Dubai presented ambitious plans on Tuesday for its hosting of the 2020 World Expo, the first in the Middle East, with organisers hoping to attract 25 million visitors.

Representatives of more than 100 countries gathered in the Emirati city for talks on the event, which Dubai won the right to host in 2013, Agence France-Presse reported.

"For the first time in the history of World Expos, each country will have an individual pavilion, enhancing the ability of nations to showcase themselves," organisers said in a statement.

The Expo site will cover 438 hectares next to Dubai's smaller second airport, Al-Maktoum International, which opened in 2013.

Panel discussions and workshops were held during the two-day planning meeting aimed at providing potential participants with details on the Expo 2020 plan and highlighting "business opportunities in the UAE for innovation, trade and investment, and knowledge transfer," the statement said.

The fair will take place from October 2020 to April 2021. 

According to economic reports, Dubai  has managed to bounce back from the 2009 crisis when the emirate needed to pay its debts and its economy contracted by around 2.5 per cent.

It is expected to achieve 5 per cent in economic growth this year.

Unlike most of the Gulf, the emirate has been successful in diversifying its income sources, developing a very good reputation in trade, tourism and property business.

Expo 2017 is scheduled to take place between June 10 and September 10, in Astana, Kazakhstan, under the theme  "Future Energy".