Expo 2020 Dubai kicks off; Great opportunities abound for Indian states in the world’s greatest show
The long-awaited event, Expo 2020 Dubai after a 1-year delay due to the Covid pandemic kick-started on September 30 with a lavish ceremony of fireworks, music, and celebrations. The expo kicked off on a desert site, which a media report described as equivalent to the size of 600 football fields. UAE-inspired patterns lit up across the stage and as celebratory fireworks launched from the nearby buildings of the Plaza painted the night sky in brilliant colors and patterns.
The greatest show in the world and the 180-day long pageant will celebrate human brilliance and ingenuity, hope and humanity, connectivity and progress. The Expo’s opening ceremony, which lighted and bloomed with stars, streamed live to more than 430 locations across the UAE. The ceremony was attended by Abu Dhabi’s powerful Crown Prince Sheikh Mohammed bin Zayed Al Nahyan, Dubai ruler Sheikh Mohammed bin Rashid Al Maktoum and a host of other dignitaries.
The stars head in the show included Italian tenor singer Andrea Bocelli, British singer Ellie Goulding, Chinese pianist Lang Lang and Saudi singer Mohammed Abdu. Many countries and companies are also looking to the expo which is the first major global event open to visitors since the coronavirus pandemic – to boost trade and investment. More than 190 countries including India got invitations to participate in the event. The city has decided on a target of 25 million visits, both virtually and in person. The public will be allowed to participate in the show from October 2 onwards and the event will continue until March 31, 2022.
The Dubai Expo, which brings together 192 countries, opens up great opportunities for Indian states too. It is hoped that India will be able to attract investors to the diamond, gold, textile, pharmaceutical, and energy sectors. The Dubai Expo is a technology marvel that will capture the vibrant Indian culture and its past, besides the capabilities and opportunities that it presents as a global economic hub to the domestic as well as the foreign investors, Vedanta said in a statement. ”Dubai aims to convey a message of peace and tolerance to the world,” said UAE’s Expo 2020 Commissioner-General Sheikh Nahyan Mubarak Al Nahyan.
Pawan Kapoor, India’s Ambassador to the UAE, said the Dubai Expo would provide an opportunity for each state to announce its own plans and hold talks with investors. Kerala also has a representation at the event. Union Minister of State for Commerce and Industry Piyush Goyal will inaugurate the Indian pavilion at the fair next month. Prime Minister Narendra Modi will also visit the event. It is hoped that the Indian Innovation Hub at the mega event, which runs till March 31 next year, will guide investors.
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Expo is one of the world’s first global events in the pandemic world, following an Olympics this summer in Japan that took place without spectators in the gallery. However, the UAE has one of the world’s highest vaccination rates per capita. It has seen its daily case numbers drop to their lowest levels in over a year. Therefore, it is believed that the expo would definitely impress the world and also becomes a place that showcases humanity to find solutions to different problems of today’s world.
