HH Sheikh Ahmed Bin Saeed Al Maktoum, Chairman of the Higher Committee of Expo 2020 Dubai, has issued a decision to set up a committee to oversee the city's readiness to host Expo 2020 Dubai.

The committee is headed by the Director General of His Highness the Ruler of Dubai, Mohammed Ibrahim Al Shaibani, and the membership of: Secretary of State for International Cooperation, General Manager of Expo 2020 Dubai, Reem Bint Ibrahim Al Hashemi, Director General and Chairman of the Board of Directors, Roads and Transport Authority General Manager of Dubai World Trade Center Authority, Hilal Saeed Al Marri, CEO of Dubai Air City Corporation, Khalifa Suhail Al Zafin, Commander-in-Chief of Dubai Police, Major General Abdullah Khalifa Al Marri, Director-General of Dubai Municipality, Eng. Daoud Abdul Rahman Al Hajri.

First meeting

The committee started its work by holding its first meeting under the chairmanship of Al Shaibani. The plans discussed the latest developments related to the follow up of the national preparations to host the Expo 2020 Dubai, as well as the latest developments related to the preparation of the site of the upcoming international event in line with the slogan «Expo minds and making the future».

The committee is working on a plan of action to ensure preparations at the state level to organize the events of the global event in terms of the integration of technical, logistical, information, marketing, tourism and other equipment.

It also identifies the scope of projects to be implemented in preparation for Expo in the Emirate of Dubai in particular and the UAE in general. To this end, the Committee examined coordination mechanisms with federal and local stakeholders to ensure the implementation of the functions and competences of the Commission.

Also at the national level, the Committee discussed the integration of the Expo 2020 Dubai experience across the country from airports, transport systems, road network and so on.

National project

The Director-General of His Highness the Ruler of Dubai, Chairman of the Committee, Mohammed Ibrahim Al-Shaibani, said that "Expo 2020 Dubai" is a national project with excellence and the institutions of the whole country and all the sons of the country must receive the millions of people who will come from all over the world to the country. Expo »which concerns the present and the UAE.

"At our first meeting, we discussed the practical steps to be taken to create all the conditions and overcome the difficulties in order to make the Expo 2020 Dubai an exceptional global event."

He stressed that the mission of the committee to ensure the completeness of the state's preparations for this global event and at the same time to verify the readiness of the Expo site is a responsibility for its greatness and a national duty consistent with the vision of our UAE leadership.

25 million visits

Expo 2020 Dubai is set to receive about 25 million visits, with 70 per cent of the visitors expected to take part in this six-month event, which is the highest proportion of visitors from outside the host country in the history of Expo.

The Expo is located 45 minutes from Dubai International Airport and an hour from Abu Dhabi International Airport, a location adjacent to the Al Maktoum International Airport, south of Dubai.