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The last major international event falls off the 2020 calendar due to the pandemic. The Universal Exposition in Dubai , which was to be held in the United Arab Emirates from next autumn, has been postponed until 2021, the BIE, the International Exhibition Office that is responsible for its organization, reported on Monday.

"The postponement of Expo Dubai 2020 to the dates between October 1, 2021 and March 31, 2022 will be approved by the BIE after having exceeded the required two-thirds threshold," the Paris-based body has reported in a statement sent to EL MUNDO . According to article 28 of the BIE convention, the amendment required a two-thirds majority of the organization's 192 member countries. Voting is open until May 29.

The BIE thus accepts the request presented at the end of last March by Dubai, the emirate that was to host this year the fair on its skyline of skyscrapers and artificial islands. The request was made days after the global spread of Covid-19 forced to postpone the Tokyo Olympics. The event will nevertheless maintain its official title of Expo 2020. The organization has confirmed the postponement announcement and has assured that the event "will play a fundamental role in shaping the world that will succeed the pandemic at the time of greatest need" .

"Although we remain firmly committed to Expo 2020, many countries have been significantly affected by Covid-19, and therefore have expressed the need to postpone Expo 2020 by one year in order for them to overcome this challenge. Emirates and Expo 2020 They have listened, "said Reem al Hashimy, Emirates Minister for International Cooperation and CEO of Expo Dubai 2020, when he presented the petition.

Life buoy

The event, which was to start next October and last until April 2021 with the participation of 192 countries, hoped to attract some 11 million visitors and had become in recent years a driving force and lifesaver for the local economy of Dubai, after the bursting of the housing bubble a decade ago and its rescue by the neighboring emirate of Abu Dhabi, the most powerful of the seven emirates that make up the federation thanks to its oil reserves.

"We remain steadfast in our collective commitment to deliver an Expo that is faithful to its time and to shared and urgent priorities. We believe that in light of this global challenge, humanity needs to come together to remember what unites us. That remains the collective ambition of all those involved in this Expo ", outlined the main face of the fair after two virtual meetings of its steering committee in which the change was hatched.

With oil prices at record lows , despite the cut implemented in OPEC + starting this month, and Emirati-flagged airlines forced to receive capital injections to survive the pandemic, FocusEconomics economists' forecast is that The economic outlook in the Emirates continues to deteriorate this year, after the slowdown that it already registered in the last two quarters of 2019.

The cancellation of the Expo this year will also affect the foreign labor force in the Emirates, which has reported 14,163 cases and 126 deaths. Human rights organizations have denounced for weeks the precarious situation of migrants from Asia and Africa who have been dismissed and are stranded in the countries of the Persian Gulf, forced to live in overcrowded facilities that do not allow social distance.

Stimulus plan

To try to alleviate the effects of Covid-19 and the temporary closure of the service sector, the Emirati government announced a stimulus plan of $ 70 billion - equivalent to 16 percent of its GDP - with a package of measures that include guarantees of credit, reduction of taxes and reduction of the reserves of the banking entities.

In early April, the forecast was for Emirates' GDP to grow 1% this year, one point less than estimated the previous month, and 2.9% in 2021, the year that -with the celebration of the Universal Exposition- now focuses the country's expectations. Dubai, which imposed strict containment measures, has already begun de-escalation.

Commercial activity in the leisure capital of the Emirates - icon of consumption and luxury - has started to recover since the last week of April. The shopping malls remain open between noon and 10 pm and the stores have been able to reopen without exceeding 30% of their normal capacity. The entrance to shopping centers is prohibited for minors between 3 and 12 years old and over 60 years old.

The absence of individual protection in public spaces is punished with a fine of 1,000 Emirati dirham (about 250 euros). Establishment staff also cannot exceed 30% of their pre-health crisis figure. A similar measure applies to restaurants outside shopping malls, which have opened with the tables keeping a distance of two meters from each other and applying a strict cleaning and sterilization policy.

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