Expo 2020

Lord Hague of Richmond Excerpts

Tuesday 14th May 2013 Written Statements

[The Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs (Mr William Hague)]

Brazil, Russia, Thailand, Turkey, and the United Arab Emirates have all officially bid to host Expo 2020. A decision on which country will host this event will be made by the BIE general assembly in November this year. This is an extremely strong field of contenders.

I am pleased to announce that the UK has decided to support UAE’s bid for Dubai to host Expo 2020.

If successful in this bid, Dubai would bring Expo to the middle east for the first time in history.

We assess that the Dubai bid is exceptionally strong: focused on global connectivity and accessibility, underpinned by its geographical location and its position as a global logistics and transport hub. All these would allow exhibitors to reach a large and varied international audience.

We are also convinced that holding Expo 2020 at a time of great change in the region would send a positive signal to the world that this is a region of dynamism, innovation and vast human potential.

Over 100,000 British citizens live and work in the UAE and co-operation between our nations now ranges from our thriving educational and tourism links, joint defence projects, security and foreign policy issues, to our increasing investment in each other’s economies. Expo 2020 and its prelude will provide great opportunities to further strengthen the relationship between our two countries.