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Exactly 182 days after a breathtaking show projected on Al Wasl Dome welcomed the world to Dubai, the Expo 2020 venue will light up once again on March 31 — this time to bid adieu to the world. The spectacular closing ceremony at Al Wasl Plaza will be displayed on 20-plus giant screens across the Expo 2020 Dubai site, including the main stages, Festival Garden and various country pavilions, enabling everyone to experience the magic. From concerts to a glorious air show, there are plenty of things to do at the Expo on the last day. Here are the top things to check out. At 7pm, the young Emirati girl from the opening ceremony will take the world on another compelling journey. “For 182 days, she has grown, learned and connected with people from around the world – what remains is the final step before she awakens to her full potential,” according to the Expo team. It promises to be another multisensory experience, with more than 400 professionals and volunteers from 56 countries. Over 745 costumes have been created for the culmination of Expo 2020 Dubai. Forty members of a UAE-based children’s choir will perform Ishy Bilady, the National Anthem of the UAE, joined by the all-women Firdaus Orchestra, conducted by Yasmina Sabbah.   Source: https://www.khaleejtimes.com/expo/expo-2020-dubai-airshow-fireworks-concerts-10-top-things-to-do-on-the-last-day

The Integrated Transport Centre (ITC) of the Department of Municipalities and Transport in Abu Dhabi, has launched an initiative encouraging public transport passengers to obtain free trips on public buses by gaining points each time they hand in empty plastic bottles, which are then used to pay for bus fares. In the first phase of the “Points for Plastic: the Bus Tariff” initiative a plastics deposit machine will be installed in Abu Dhabi’s main bus station, enabling passengers to exchange empty plastic containers for points, which will be calculated as follows; each single small bottle (600 ml or less) will gain 1 point, while larger containers or bottles exceeding 600 ml will gain 2 points. Each point is equal 10 fils, so 10 points equals Dh1. The initiative has been launched in cooperation with Environment Agency – Abu Dhabi (EAD), Abu Dhabi Waste Management Centre “Tadweer”, and “DGrade”. The points balance can be compiled and transferred to the “Hafilat” Personalised Bus Card, the ITC automated payment system, which calculates the fare required for the trip and automatically deducts it from the cash value stored in the card via the tariff machines installed at bus entrances and exits. The EAD is working closely with its partners from the public and private sectors to launch an integrated bottle return scheme in key locations, as well as encouraging initiatives to collect bottles from homes in a way that is based on incentive rewards. Source: https://www.khaleejtimes.com/transport/uae-now-get-free-trips-on-public-buses-in-exchange-for-empty-plastic-bottles

Dubai will host world’s first ever economic summit – Investopia Investment Summit – in Metaverse this week. To be held as part of the World Government Summit at Expo 2020 Dubai, Abdulla bin Touq Al Marri, UAE’s Minister of Economy, will host the world’s first economic press conference in the Metaverse where media representatives can also join using augmented and virtual reality. “It is great to see Investopia Summit in the Metaverse, and to host the first economic press conference through this virtual world. Investopia’s vision is about the future economies, so launching the Summit in the Metaverse comes in line with this context, which enriches the Investopia’s discussions about the technological developments in the world and their impact on economies and investments,” said the UAE’s Minister of Economy. Investopia summit is one of the major strategic initiatives under the ‘Projects of the 50’ announced by the UAE Government in September 2021. The inaugural edition of the Summit will witness the participation of intellectuals and industry experts as well as government officials, institutional investors, startup and SME leaders, social entrepreneurs, and other stakeholders to share ideas, create opportunities, and promote future investments all over the world. The World Government Summit 2022, which will be held on March 29-30 at Expo 2020 Dubai, is expected to be the largest gathering yet for more than 30 international organizations. This year’s summit will receive more than 4,000 global figures, government officials and specialists, aiming to discuss future of governments with more than500 decision makers and thought leaders from all over the world hosting up to 110 sessions and workshops.   Source: https://www.khaleejtimes.com/tech/dubai-to-host-first-ever-economic-summit-in-metaverse

Expo 2020 Dubai’s final weekend looks set to be its biggest with tens of thousands of visitors flocking to the world’s fair for a super Sunday of entertainment. Pavilions reported their longest queues since the start of the six-month mega event in October. From families with babies in strollers to elderly visitors in wheelchairs, people of all ages were eager to soak up the carnival atmosphere for at least one more time before the grand closing ceremony on Thursday. One indication of the massive crowds was the popular German pavilion requesting that people stop queuing up minutes after opening on Sunday morning. An attendant required a megaphone to regularly update people milling around the campus-themed structure with information about the expected wait time and when the queue would open up again. “We opened the pavilion as we do every day at 10am and then three minutes later we had to close the line. The wait time was already six and a half hours so we had to tell people that the queue is shut,” said Bjorn Beringer, communication assistant at the German pavilion. The queue opened later in the day, with a wait time of five hours. Visit numbers have shot past the 20 million mark for a world’s fair that has drawn tourists and residents for multiple visits to a site spread across three theme districts — sustainability, opportunity and mobility. People lay on patches of grass and tucked into ice creams to beat the heat. Others crowded around magicians and musicians who livened up street corners with their acts. Expo fans make early start to join in the fun Many were at the gates at 9am for an early start to ensure they had a chance to enter pavilions on their must-visit list. Teenager Justin Matthew and his family have visited the Expo six times. The Sharjah residents managed to see the pavilions of Singapore, Uzbekistan and Morocco. “I like the design of the pavilions and how they have their own way to explain their story,” he said. The mobility pavilion with the world’s largest passenger lift that can transport more than 150 people at a time was one of his favourites. Many children enjoyed signature structures that will remain after the Expo ends and the environmentally-friendly lessons these taught. “I like Terra because it tells you about the ocean, how you need to clean it up, keep it safe from trash and other messy things,” said Kien Monzones, 11, on his fourth visit with his family, about the sustainability pavilion. Many decided to revel in the atmosphere as huge queues meant they had little opportunity of revisiting much-loved zones. Kane Simpson, a real estate broker in Dubai, got in early to see the Vision pavilion and hoped to revisit the Hungary pavilion. “We were here first thing, before the pavilions opened and there were still a lot of people waiting for the first showing. How busy it is today, on the last weekend, it was not like this the other times I have been here,” said Mr Simpson, on his fourth visit. “But we are still enjoying ourselves. It’s very big and there is lots to see.” His friend Clementine Radford, visiting from the UK, was delighted to have an Expo experience to remember. “It’s a once in a lifetime really,” she said. “This is an amazing place. I’m glad I got to see this.” The Expo ends on Thursday with children at the centre of the finale at the Al Wasl dome that will feature musical performances from US artists Christina Aguilera, Norah Jones and cellist Yo-Yo Ma. The world fair was delayed by a year due to the Covid-19 pandemic and has been one of the largest global gatherings of people since the pandemic started, attracting visitors from across the country and overseas.   Source: https://www.thenationalnews.com/uae/expo-2020/2022/03/27/super-sunday-at-expo-2020-dubai-as-visitors-relish-final-weekend/

A lot has been happening in Dubai, the United Arab Emirates (UAE), involving CARICOM countries, which, except for a few articles, have mostly gone under the radar in the region. DUBAI 2020 EXPO Dubai has been hosting a world exposition from October 1, 2021, which ends on March 31. World expositions are large-scale universal fairs covering a variety of themes. These fairs are sanctioned by the Bureau International des Expositions (BIE). It was agreed from 2013 that Dubai would host this exposition in 2020. Due to the COVID-19 virus, however, this first world exposition to be held in the Middle East was postponed to 2021. These world fairs are seen as opportunities to showcase the participating countries in individual pavilions. They are also opportunities to make contacts, forge partnerships, deepen relations, explore investment opportunities, cooperate on various projects, and exchange information and experiences. The CARICOM member states have participated in several of these expositions over the years, either collectively or as individual countries. This 2020 Dubai exposition is being held under the theme ‘Connecting Minds, Creating the Future’ with sub-themes on opportunity, mobility and sustainability. Topics highlighted during the expo included climate and biodiversity, urban and rural development, travel and connectivity, and food, agriculture and livelihoods. One hundred and ninety-two countries have been participating, including, from CARICOM, Antigua and Barbuda, Belize, Dominica, Grenada, Guyana, Haiti, Jamaica, St Lucia, St Kitts and Nevis, St Vincent and the Grenadines, Suriname, and Trinidad and Tobago. The expo has provided an opportunity to host various trade and economic events in Dubai. Thus, CARICOM government officials have visited their pavilions on their national days and participated in the various spin-off events. Jamaica’s Minister of Foreign Affairs and Foreign Trade, Senator Kamina Johnson Smith, visited in February, along with Minister of Tourism, Hon. Edmund Bartlett, for Jamaica’s National Day on February 18. Up to the end of February, it was reported that over 14 million people had visited this expo. CARIBBEAN INVESTMENT FORUM The Caribbean Export Development Agency (Caribbean Export), in association with the Caribbean Association of Investment Promotion Agencies (CAIPA), hosted the Caribbean Export Forum in Dubai on March 22. This high-level event aimed to present a variety of investment opportunities in the Caribbean in agricultural technology, hotel and resort development, logistics and transportation, and financial technology. The forum had sessions on doing business in the Caribbean and investment opportunities, as well as providing time for networking. The forum was showcasing the Caribbean in the UAE and to others in that region. It was attended by over 250 participants, with business meetings taking place over three days. The keynote address was delivered by His Excellency Dr Mohamed Irfaan Ali, President of the Co-operative Republic of Guyana. President Ali pointed to the Caribbean as a region built on resilience and diversity which will allow investment to thrive, even though its population is small. He said that: “Once you have the capital, the foresight, access to technology, then the Caribbean region is a destination you should be looking at. It is a destination that offers you an opportunity to build a complex, multifaceted investment platform. And it’s a region that is looking at being self-sufficient in many areas.” President Ali highlighted the region’s economic potential and spoke extensively about opportunities in environmental services, the blue economy, agriculture, infrastructure, logistics, tourism, and other areas of potential and predicted growth. He pointed to the region’s location, with its direct access to South, Central and North America, and its investment and trade arrangements. Countries in the region, he said, are aiming to transform their infrastructure, and are looking at building infrastructure that will support regional development. The president also spoke of Guyana’s great potential as an investment destination, given its natural resources. The region is seeking investments from the Middle East, where capital is available. CARICOM countries have made other efforts to court investments in the Middle East. I hope that participation in the Dubai 2020 Expo, which closes this week, will be successful in generating new investment flows into the region to aid the effort to ‘build back better’ post-COVID. Elizabeth Morgan is a specialist in international trade policy and international politics. Email feedback to columns@gleanerjm.com. Source: https://jamaica-gleaner.com/article/commentary/20220330/elizabeth-morgan-dubai-expo-and-caribbean-investment-forum

Organised by Dubai Chamber of Commerce in partnership with Expo 2020 Dubai, GBF LATAM 2022 explores new avenues of economic cooperation between UAE and Latin American countries. • President of Guyana: We are working with the UAE on several areas, the first of which is infrastructure development. • HE Dr. Thani bin Ahmed Al Zeyoudi: UAE is looking to diversify its investments globally and Latin America is a very important region for us. • HE Abdul Aziz Al Ghurair: Dubai holds the key to unlocking Latin America’s untapped economic potential His Highness Sheikh Maktoum bin Mohammed bin Rashid Al Maktoum, Deputy Ruler of Dubai, Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of Finance, today inaugurated the Global Business Forum Latin America (GBF) 2022, which was held on the sidelines of Expo 2020 Dubai. Organised by Dubai Chamber of Commerce in partnership with Expo 2020 Dubai, the fourth edition of GBF LATAM explores new avenues of economic cooperation between the UAE, Latin American and Caribbean countries. His Highness Sheikh Maktoum attended a special panel session titled Lessons in Diversification and Partnership, which featured His Excellency Dr. Mohamed Irfaan Ali, President, the Co-operative Republic of Guyana; His Excellency Dr. Thani bin Ahmed Al Zeyoudi, Minister of State for Foreign Trade, UAE. His Excellency Abdul Aziz Al Ghurair, Chairman of Dubai Chambers and His Excellency Hamad Buamim, President & CEO of Dubai Chambers also attended the session. During the session, the President of Guyana spoke about the various synergies that existed between his country and the UAE, which he says offer huge potential for cooperation. “The UAE and Guyana have a lot in common when you look at where the UAE started from, the size of the population, what drove growth and development, notably oil exploration and revenues. But what the UAE has really taught us is how to utilise those revenues to diversify the economy, ensure quality of the system, improve government services, and build state-of-the-art infrastructure – and that is what we want to achieve in Guyana. We want to use the resources we will get from our oil resources to build an economy that is resilient and well diversified,” he said. “We are working with the UAE on several areas, the first of which is infrastructure development. Meanwhile, from a governance perspective, we are collaborating towards efficiency in government systems and technology transfer. Having a small population that is driven by technological advancement, efficiency, transparency, and accountability is key. We are creating an investment agreement to make it easy for investors in the UAE to invest in Guyana. We want to have government-to-government, but also people-to-people collaboration,” he added. HE Al Zeyoudi highlighted the importance of the LATAM region for Dubai and the UAE. “The UAE is looking to diversify its investments globally and, for us, Latin America is a very important region – we are talking about more than 400 million people. Looking at what has been achieved over the last five years in Latin America, the UAE has dominated most investments from the GCC into the region. At the same time, our trade volume now sits at $9 billion, which shows there is huge potential for trade,” the minister said. “Latin America is a global source of food products, the continent is going to be one of the solutions to the global food security disturbances, which we saw during the pandemic and we are now seeing once again. Going into the region, we want to encourage the private sector; we cannot go and expand the relationship without the private sector. We want to ensure the investment protection agreements are there and to highlight the opportunities to investors,” HE Al Zeyoudi added. HE Al Ghurair said the forum could usher in a new era of trade between Dubai and the LATAM region, as well as highlight the benefits that Dubai offers to companies from Latin America and the Caribbean that are seeking to expand their footprint. “This year’s forum comes at a pivotal time as economies around the world look outwards for new global partnerships and opportunities that can drive sustainable growth in the post-COVID era and beyond. The 27 countries in the Latin American and Caribbean region offer a wealth of untapped potential as the Pacific Alliance, regional economic integration and reforms and COVID-led digital acceleration create new growth prospects,” said HE Al Ghurair. “Dubai holds the key to unlocking Latin America’s economic potential, as one of the world’s fastest growing city economies that can offer valuable expertise in key sectors such as logistics, infrastructure, retail, tourism and finance, in addition to the right level of investment needed to support the sustainable growth and development of Latin American economies,” the Chairman of Dubai Chambers added. Other key topics and issues under discussion over the next two days at GBF LATAM 2022 are how stakeholders from both regions can capitalise on the opportunities emerging across the LATAM economy, which according to the latest IMF, grew by 6% in real terms in 2021 and is expected to grow by 4.3% between 2021 and 2025. The event takes a closer look at how Dubai and LATAM can cooperate in the rapidly growing sectors of fintech, digital solutions, renewable energy, healthcare and food security, all of which have been boosted as a result of the global pandemic. The forum will discuss how these and other sectors can be key to the economic growth of both regions, as well as deliver strong returns for investors. A key area of discussion at the forum is how the LATAM region can play a key role in meeting Dubai’s target of increasing its global trade from the current AED1.4 trillion to AED2 trillion over five years. The forum will examine how Dubai-based investors can be instrumental in helping the emirate meet this ambitious target. Also under discussion is the roles that Dubai Chamber of Commerce’s three international offices in Panama, Brazil and Argentina are playing to promote commercial opportunities between Latin American and Caribbean countries and Dubai

The first cohort of 85 startups and small businesses will set shop at District 2020, the futuristic mixed-use community that will take shape at the Expo site, by the end of this year, it has been announced. Tala Al Ansari, Director of Innovation Ecosystem and Scale2Dubai, a global entrepreneurship programme, said they received over 3200 applications for startups from 129 countries around the world. “628 (companies) have been shortlisted, and today we are pleased to announce our first cohort of 85 scaleups from 27 countries around the world that will join us at District 2020,” Al Ansari said at a press conference Thursday at Expo 2020. “These 85 startups will receive a soft landing at District 2020 and will become part of our innovation ecosystem,” said Al Ansari, who leads on curating District 2020s innovation ecosystem responsible for attracting global corporate partners. She said it reiterates “Expo 2020’s commitment and district’s commitment to supporting entrepreneurs worldwide.” With seven days left for the curtains to fall on the six-month long world fair, 80 per cent of the Expo built structures at the sprawling 4.38 sq km site will be repurposed to transform it into a 15-minute futuristic, human centric city where people can work, live and explore. Encompassing government offices, Fortune 500 companies, academic institutions, cultural attractions, accelerators, incubators, labs, small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) and start-ups, District 2020 aims to attract diverse talents from across the world. “The main ethos behind the District 2020’s ecosystem is to bring together diverse thinkers and to enable partnerships and carry forward that legacy of the expo of connecting minds and creating the future,” she Al Ansari. Al Ansari said Scale2Dubai will now be working with 85 organizations on their logistics of scaling and being part of district 2020. She said the first cohort will first come onboard in a virtual program in the summer and then join physically on the ground at District 2020 starting October. Scale2Dubai will host new cohorts annually at District 2020 and selection is already closed for cohort 2, she added. Nadimeh Mehra, Vice President of District 2020 said the selected startups can operate from District 2020 rent free for two years. “That is critical for as for a startup that’s moving and scaling to a new organization. So, we’re de-risking for them a lot of their operational costs,” she said. Elaborating on why Dubai plays an important role in attracting the entire startup movement, Mehra said: “It is such fertile ground for businesses to expand and scale up.” “The UAE has the most active startup ecosystem in the Middle East, as 33 of the 50 most funded startups named by Forbes are headquartered in the Emirates. Among the top 10 startups in Forbes Middle East list of the 50 most funded startups in the Middle East, Seven startups were established in the UAE,” she said. She said over the last few years, the UAE has also become home to 17 accelerator programs, 12 incubators and seven co-working spaces. It also has a clear vision and roadmap to become a leading global future city. This is supported by numerous initiatives and strategies such as the Dubai blockchain strategy, UAE strategy for artificial intelligence 2031 Dubai future vision, Dubai plan 2021, Smart Dubai, Dubai10x, UAE innovation strategy, and the UAE Centennial 2071. The landmark law allowing 100% foreign ownership of companies and long-term visa reforms are the latest among a host of measures taken by the government to attract investors. “Excellent infrastructure, investor friendly reforms, safe haven status, and sound regulations have contributed among other factors to help the UAE stand out as one of the most sought-after destinations for startups in the world,” she said. Anchor tenants like Siemens, Siemens Energy, Terminus Technologies, and DP World will also play a key role in developing tech-driven solutions and also collaborating and helping startups innovate and flourish.