DUBAI // The UAE’s pavilion at the Expo 2015, in Milan, will focus on food security.
Plans for the stand, designed by Foster and Partners, were presented to the National Media Council during a meeting at the Ministry of Foreign Affairs yesterday.
The World Expo will run from May 1 to October 31 under the theme ‘Feeding the planet, energy for life’, state news agency Wam said.
“The UAE pavilion will entertain and inform over 2 million attendees and many more through our digital platforms,” said Sheikh Abdullah bin Zayed, the UAE Foreign Minister, and Chairman of the National Media Council.
“It will further enhance global perceptions of the UAE, deepen our friendship and ties with Italy and hopefully motivate thousands of Italians to visit the UAE.”
Dubai is bidding for the Expo 2020, alongside Sao Paulo in Brazil, Izmir in Turkey, and Yekaterinburg in Russia. The results will be announced in November.
There will be an Expo 2017 in Astana, Kazakhstan, which will run from June to September.
The UAE Pavilion will be situated on one of the largest sites at the Expo and is close to the centre of the entire park. The UAE has a strong record at recent Expos, listed in the top five at Hannover 2000, winning a gold medal at Zaragoza in 2008, being voted the most popular pavilion at Shanghai in 2010 and taking a silver medal in 2012 at Yeosu, Korea.
It is also aiming high in 2015.
“Key elements of the building itself are its visual impact, inspired by the high dunes of the desert, inviting people to enter and discover how the country is managing its own food and energy related issues whilst also helping others tackle their own challenges,” Wam said.
mcroucher@thenational.ae
