Expo 2020 Dubai finally opens as the UAE turns 50

Expo 2020 Dubai has finally opened its doors. The city will host an estimated 25 million visitors from all over the world for 182 days, earning it the title of “World’s Greatest Show.” Expo 2020 Dubai opened to the world eight months later than intended, with the theme ‘Connecting Minds, Creating the Future.’ It will be the largest global event of this magnitude since the COVID-19 pandemic broke out.

A showcase of contemporary solutions

Expo 2020 Dubai is the 35th world fair over the past 170 years. They’re designed to showcase ideas, inventions, and innovations that tackle the world’s problems. The opening ceremony featured the world-famous tenor Andrea Bocelli, singer-songwriter Ellie Goulding and Grammy Award winner Angelique Kidjo amongst many others.

192 countries are taking part in the event which will continue for the next six months. The three sub-themes are sustainability, mobility, and opportunity. Many events will be streamed live online, but Expo 2020 still officially expects to attract more visitors than previous host Milan as the travel restrictions ease globally.

The deputy general commissioner of the Spain Pavilion, Carmen Bueno, said the event was important as it is the first real gathering of its kind since the global pandemic hit. “It’s going to be a physical gathering of people from many diverse parts. We are ready to visit and we are ready to experience and to share experiences with others.”

Plans are ambitious for the first international fair to be held in the Middle East, South Asia, and Africa region.
It is believed that it will bring the world’s people together to address issues like climate change, conflict, and economic progress.

Driver shortages

Amid mounting concerns over food and fuel deliveries, the UK government is introducing temporary work visas for 5000 fuel tanker and food lorry drivers. A shortage of drivers has caused long lines at gas stations in some areas, causing deliveries to be disrupted. Officials in the pro-Brexit cabinet are quick to dismiss claims that the present driver shortage is due to Britain’s exit from the European Union.

According to them, the coronavirus pandemic exacerbated the problem, with thousands of truck drivers fleeing the UK to return to their EU countries. This has resulted in an increase in people training for HGV licenses in the United States, and businesses have been obliged to provide significant wage increases to make the profession more appealing.

Andrew Hawes is a National Driving Centre teacher. He claims that some drivers’ salaries have nearly doubled in the last month. “We’ve seen a tremendous shift from other businesses with Covid.” For example, we’ve had airline pilots and barristers come in to do HGV courses because they see it as a long-term career.”

A 50-year agenda

The UAE has announced intentions to launch 50 new economic initiatives over the next nine years in order to strengthen the country’s competitiveness and attract 126 billion euros in foreign direct investment.

The 10 by 10 project aims to expand UAE exports to 10 worldwide markets by 10% annually.
Other initiatives include investing in technology and developing new visas for entrepreneurs and skilled employees, as well as expanding the number of family sponsorships available to attract and keep residents.
Another project will see the UAE and the Emirates Development Bank (EDB) invest €1.1 billion in industrial technologies and high-tech industries.

EDB is here to serve as a financial partner for a couple of these projects, according to Ahmed Mohamed Al Naqbi, CEO of Emirates Development Bank. “We’re working on two major initiatives right now.” One billion dirhams will be invested in the market as SMEs financing over the following five years, until 2025. Food security, manufacturing, health care, and infrastructure are also on our radar.”

Omar Sultan Al Olama, the UAE Minister of State for Artificial Intelligence, Digital Economy, and Remote Work, recently presented a new data law. He stated that they wanted to give the digital economy and digital economy enterprises a strong incentive to come to the UAE and call it home.

“We recognize that the digital economy landscape is ever-changing. We are aware that new trends emerge on a regular basis, thus we do not claim to always be ahead of the curve. We want to keep pushing to be the best in the industry.” The UAE is setting an agenda for the next 50 years based on its continuous development and opportunities as it celebrates its golden jubilee this December.

1, 'include' => $prevPost->ID, 'post_type' => $post_type, ); $prevPost = get_posts($args); foreach ($prevPost as $post) { setup_postdata($post); ?>

1, 'include' => $nextPost->ID, 'post_type' => $post_type, ); $nextPost = get_posts($args); foreach ( $nextPost as $post ) { setup_postdata($post); ?>

1, 'include' => $prevPost->ID, 'post_type' => $post_type, ); $prevPost = get_posts($args); foreach ($prevPost as $post) { setup_postdata($post); ?>

1, 'include' => $nextPost->ID, 'post_type' => $post_type, ); $nextPost = get_posts($args); foreach ( $nextPost as $post ) { setup_postdata($post); ?>