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Dubai indisputably qualifies to host World Expo 2020

February 24, 2013

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Dubai, Feb 24: As a host country for more than 200 different nationalities and a vibrant hub of international commerce, trade and tourism, the UAE today is one of the most connected nations on the planet.

Dubai, the bustling nerve centre of the Arab world’s second largest economy and one of the most sought-after shopping, conference and exhibition destinations in the world — well-connected to the rest of the world by land, sea and air — indisputably deserves to be the best qualified metropolis to host World Expo 2020 which is billed as a platform for connectivity to help pioneer new partnerships for growth and sustainability for the future.

Indeed, if the UAE wins the bid, it will not only facilitate an international celebration of new ideas and help open new frontiers of global partnership, but will also ensure enduring benefits for future generations.

World Expo, the internationally renowned event held every five years, features spectacular exhibitions, pavilions and cultural events by international organizations, businesses and nations from around the world. It also provides an opportunity to raise awareness about the issues impacting the global community such as sustainable development, resource management, global economy and the quality of life.

Where else can one find a better place to stage such an event other than the UAE, where these issues are addressed with finesse and poise?

For hosting rights, Dubai is competing against Ayutthaya, Thailand; Ekaterinburg, Russia; Izmir, Turkey; and Sao Paulo, Brazil. Come November 2013, it will be either Dubai Expo 2020 or the end of a nation’s big dreams to act as a critical catalyst for a bold, better and unified world.

While the values and objectives of the World Expo remain strongly aligned with the unique characteristics of Dubai — a city that encapsulates the entrepreneurial dynamism and cosmopolitan spirit of the modern era — its unrivalled track record as one of the most preferred MICE (meetings, incentives, conferences, and exhibitions) destinations not only in the Middle East and North Africa region, but even beyond, can never be more profoundly relevant in making the choice of World Expo 2020 venue.

Given the undeniably unique advantages of the UAE, thanks to its world class infrastructure, logistics and global connectivity, Dubai — now served by more than 150 airlines, and interconnected to the rest of the cities within the region by multi-lane highways and a state-of-the-art Metro system —remains easily accessible to one third of the world’s population in a four hour-flight, and two thirds within eight hours.

With the UAE’s increasingly pivotal role in the global economy, and its strong track record of hosting high profile global events, including the Dubai Air Show, International Defence Exhibition (Idex), Gitex (Middle East’s largest consumer IT and electronics show) and more than 200 other trade shows as well as international sporting events, there can seldom be a better platform of choice for World Expo 2020.

It must be this country’s long-standing passion to bring global citizens together that drives the UAE’s keenness to bring the World Expo for the first time to the region.

Other factors strongly in favour of Dubai Expo 2020 candidacy is the unequivocal status of the UAE as the world’s third largest re-export market and its nine world class seaports, including the flagship port of Jebel Ali, ranked as the largest container terminal between Rotterdam and Singapore.

Just as Reem Al Hashimy, UAE Minister of State and Managing Director of the UAE’s Higher Committee for Hosting World Expo 2020 in Dubai, commented, the UAE’s bid is about an Expo for the world – an opportunity for nations, countries and the business community to get involved.

There is little doubt that this advantage and opportunities offered by Dubai in boosting global trade flows, will stand Dubai in good stead.

Look at some statistics. The UAE conducts international trade with more than 220 countries. It is host to around 65 foreign business councils, and receives hundreds of foreign trade missions every year.

Dubai International, the world’s fourth busiest airport in terms of international passenger traffic, currently serves more than 150 airlines flying to over 220 destinations across six continents.

At present, the collective capacity of the airport’s three terminals is 60 million passengers per annum. It will increase to 75 million passengers when the A380-dedicated Concourse 3 opens. Annual aircraft movements in Dubai are expected to increase to 560,000 by 2020 when over 98 million passengers and over four million tonnes of air freight will pass through the emirate’s airports, a special research study has shown.

Dubai International Airport recorded total passenger traffic in the first 11 months of 2012 at 52.3 million travellers, up 13.1 per cent against 2011, with passenger numbers forecast to reach 56.5 million in 2012, and 98 million by 2020.

Abu Dhabi has recorded similarly buoyant figures with 2012 another record year according to the Abu Dhabi Tourism & Culture Authority. It welcomed 2.3 million hotel guests to the emirate’s hotels and hotel apartments, representing a 13 per cent rise on 2011 figures.

As various industry reports suggest, the UAE’s hospitality market is geared up to record 67 per cent growth in revenue to $7.5 billion by 2016 - up from $4.5 billion in 2011 as visitor demand grows alongside hotel vacancies. Hotel supply is expected to increase from the current 96,992 hotel rooms in Dubai and Abu Dhabi, to a total of 125,383 hotel rooms by 2016.

Last year, the UAE drew an estimated 10 million tourists.

According to a report released by the World Travel and Tourism Council, the UAE accounts for 41 per cent of total investment in the travel and tourism sector in the Middle East.

With the UAE’s tourism map now incredibly diverse, Dubai Expo 2020 would offer an opportunity for millions of transit passengers to visit the Expo.

Together with Dubai and Abu Dhabi, Sharjah and Ras Al Khaimah are building on their own cultural foundations to present a series of unique individual products that will help position the country as a cohesive hospitality hub, with varied appeal.

As Al Hashimy argues, given the great advantages of our country thanks to its strong infrastructure, the geographical positioning between east and west, the seamless operations between our ports and airports, and our global connectivity, “we feel we really can bring people together and do justice to our theme ‘Connecting Minds, Creating the Future’.”

As the gateway to Africa, Asia and Europe, and a nexus for cross-border discussions, Dubai can offer a diverse, exciting and international profile for visitors and participants alike. The Dubai Expo 2020 will be a celebration of innovative partnerships for global progress, she says.

An important part of the Dubai bid to host Expo 2020 is recognising Expos should educate the public, and promote innovation in the service of human progress. The intention is that any Expos should not just be a benchmark for current human progress, but also propose a roadmap for the way forward.

Dubai Expo 2020 is being designed as a significant permanent addition to the facilities in Dubai, and an opportunity to build new partnerships across borders.

Should Dubai be successful in winning the bid for hosting the Expo, it would be the most high-profile and inclusive international World Expo in history with a predicted 70 per cent of the 25 million expected visitors coming from outside of the host nation.

The proposed venue for Dubai Expo 2020 is located in Dubai World Central’s exhibition district (Dubai Trade Centre-Jebel Ali) as the site would be able to fully leverage the advantages of not only the Al Maktoum International Airport but also DWC’s surrounding amenities and facilities that will be online in eight years’ time to welcome the world to this extraordinary emirate.

Ever since the Great Exhibition, held in London in 1851, World Expos remain a key meeting point for the global community to share innovations and make progress on issues of international importance such as the global economy, sustainable development and improved quality of life for the world’s population.

Every five years, World Expos attract millions of visitors who explore and discover pavilions, exhibitions and cultural events staged by hundreds of participants including nations, international organisations and businesses.

Each World Expo is a catalyst for economic, cultural and social transformation and generates important legacies for the host city and nation. Hopefully in 2020 that transportation will happen right here.

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News Network
November 22,2025

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The Israeli regime’s forces have killed two Palestinian children in the Gaza Strip every day since the ceasefire began in early October, UNICEF has warned.

The UN children’s agency said on Friday that Israeli forces continue to attack Palestinians in Gaza even though the agreement was meant to stop the killing.

“Since 11 October, while the ceasefire has been in effect, at least 67 children have been killed in conflict-related incidents in the Gaza Strip. Dozens more have been injured. That is an average of almost two children killed every day since the ceasefire took effect,” UNICEF spokesperson Ricardo Pires said in Geneva, reminding that each number in the statistics represents a child whose life had ended violently.

“These are not statistics,” he said. “Each child had a story, a family, and a future that was stolen from them.”

Data from Palestinian factions, human rights groups, and government bodies recorded since the US-brokered ceasefire deal went into effect on October 10 show that Israeli forces have carried out numerous attacks, each constituting a separate ceasefire violation.

UNICEF teams say they repeatedly continue to witness heart-wrenching scenes of fearful Palestinian children sleeping outdoors with amputated limbs, while others live as orphans in flooded, makeshift shelters.

“I saw this myself in August. There is no safe place for them. The world cannot normalize their suffering,” Pires said, lamenting that the UN could “do a lot more if the aid that is really needed was entering faster.”

The UNICEF spokesperson warned that with the advent of winter, the risks for hundreds of thousands of displaced children will increase.

He warned, “The stakes are incredibly high” for children as winter acts as a threat multiplier, where children have no heating, no insulation, and few blankets. He said respiratory infections rise.

“Too many children have already paid the highest price,” Pires said. “Too many are still paying it, even under a ceasefire. The world promised them it would stop and that we would protect them.”

“Now we must act like it,” the UNICEF spokesperson added.

Since the Israeli regime launched its genocidal war against Palestinians in Gaza in October 2023, it has killed nearly 70,000 people in the territory, most of them women and children, and injured over 170,000 more, while reducing most of the structures in the enclave to rubble.

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News Network
November 28,2025

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Several Syrians were killed and more than two dozen others injured in Israeli strikes on the outskirts of Damascus, amid intensified incursions by the occupying regime since the fall of former president Bashar al-Assad and the rise of Hayat Tahrir al-Sham (HTS) rule.

Syrian state TV reported that the casualties occurred during an overnight Israeli assault involving helicopters and drones on the town of Beit Jinn in the Damascus countryside. The attack followed an Israeli military unit’s entry into the town, where they were surrounded by local residents, leading to gunfire and direct confrontations.

According to the report, “The occupation army’s helicopters and artillery shelled Beit Jinn, located at the foothills of Mount Hermon, resulting in 13 martyrs and 25 injured civilians.” The broadcaster did not specify the full extent of damage.

Al-Ikhbariyah Syria confirmed that the shelling coincided with Israeli soldiers entering Beit Jinn, while artillery pounded surrounding areas. The broadcaster stated that the escalation began after local residents clashed with an Israeli patrol that had infiltrated the southern town and “kidnapped” three young men.

Following a two-hour exchange of heavy fire, Israeli forces withdrew and repositioned on the hill of Butt al-Warda at the town’s outskirts.

Israeli media acknowledged that six soldiers were wounded in the clashes—three of them seriously—describing the confrontation as a “sudden ambush” that forced the deployment of reserve units and air support to secure an exit route. No further details were provided.

The aggression has fueled renewed displacement from Beit Jinn, with residents fleeing to nearby villages amid increasingly frequent Israeli attacks.

The raid came just a day after Israeli troops carried out another ground incursion into Umm al-Luqas village in Quneitra province. According to SANA, an Israeli unit in four vehicles entered the village, raided several homes, and later withdrew.

Syria condemned the repeated incursions as violations of the 1974 Disengagement Agreement and UN resolutions, urging the international community to enforce compliance and pressure Israel to halt its operations and withdraw fully.

Israel has expanded its attacks across Syrian territory following the collapse of the Assad government last year. Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has reportedly instructed his forces to push deeper into Syrian territory and seize strategic positions.

Meanwhile, critics say the HTS-led interim government’s inaction and growing normalization gestures toward Israel have emboldened Tel Aviv to intensify its military operations. HTS, formerly linked to al-Qaeda, seized control of Damascus last December, formally ending Assad’s rule.

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News Network
November 30,2025

The United Nations Committee against Torture (CAT) has condemned the Israeli regime for enforcing a policy of “organized torture” against Palestinians.

In a report published on Friday, CAT stated that the occupying regime enforces a deliberate policy of “organized and widespread torture and ill-treatment” against Palestinian abductees, particularly since October 7, 2023, when Israel launched its genocidal war on Gaza.

The committee expressed “deep concern over repeated severe beatings, dog attacks, electrocution, water-boarding, use of prolonged stress positions [and] sexual violence” inflicted on Palestinians.

Palestinian prisoners were degraded by “being made to act like animals or being urinated on,” systematically denied medical care, and subjected to excessive restraints, “in some cases resulting in amputation,” the report added.

CAT also condemned the routine application of “unlawful combatants law” to justify the prolonged detention without trial of thousands of Palestinian men, women, and children.

More than 10,000 Palestinians, including women and children, are currently held in Israeli prisons, according to Palestinian and international human rights groups, with 3,474 Palestinians in “administrative detention,” meaning they are imprisoned without trial for indefinite periods.

The report highlighted the “high proportion of children who are currently detained without charge or on remand,” noting that while Israel sets the age of criminal responsibility at 12, even younger children have been abducted.

Children designated as security prisoners face severe restrictions on family contact, may be subjected to solitary confinement, and are denied access to education, in clear violation of international law.

The committee further suggested that Israel’s policies across the Occupied Territories constitute collective torture against the Palestinian population.

“A range of policies adopted by Israel in the course of its continued unlawful presence in the Occupied Palestinian Territory amounts to cruel, inhuman or degrading living conditions for the Palestinian population,” the report said.

On Thursday, the Palestinian resistance movement Hamas condemned the systematic killing and torture of Palestinian abductees in Israeli prisons, urging international action to halt these abuses.

Citing human rights data, Hamas stated that 94 Palestinians have been killed in Israeli prisons since the start of Tel Aviv’s genocidal war on Gaza.

“This reflects an organized criminal approach that has turned these prisons into direct killing grounds to eliminate our people,” the resistance movement said.

Hamas called on the international community, the UN, and human rights organizations to immediately pressure Israel to end crimes against prisoners and uphold their rights as guaranteed by all international conventions and norms.

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