Honouring Arab explorers

Visitors to the futuristic Alif — the Mobility Pavilion at Expo 2020 Dubai are to be dwarfed by nine-metre-tall, photo-realistic figures from the Golden Age of Arab civilisation, including ancient navigator Ahmad Ibn Majid and celebrated explorer Ibn Battuta.

Ahmad Ibn Majid, a great Muslim navigator, born in the 15th century in Julfar (present-day Ras Al Khaimah), and nicknamed ‘The Lion of the Sea’, wrote many works of literature on marine science and the movement of ships in his lifetime - when Arab sailors were considered among the best in the world.

Ibn Battuta was a great medieval Muslim Moroccan traveller from the 14th century, who wrote a book about his adventures, ‘The Rila’ (‘The Travels’). This celebrated work details his explorations, covering some 75,000 miles (120,000km), visiting many Muslim countries, and as far as China and Sumatra (now part of Indonesia).

The Mobility Pavilion pays tribute to these giant Arab personalities through intricately-crafted tableaux, offering stories of the innovations that helped drive global mobility through the centuries.

By uncovering the stories of these historical Arab giants, visitors can explore the concept of mobility, its power and far-reaching influence, and discover the role of the region in advancing human exploration.

These giants are set to be one of the mega-attractions of Alif — the Mobility Pavilion, where visitors are taken on a voyage through time and space to discover how people, innovation, technology and data are interacting in increasingly complex ways.

Great opportunity: Dr Margarete Schrambock, Austria’s Federal Minister for Digital and Economic Affairs, congratulated the UAE and its wise leadership on the historic opening of Expo 2020 Dubai, which is held under the theme “Connecting Minds, Creating the Future”, and on the UAE’s 50th anniversary.

In an exclusive interview with the Emirates News Agency (WAM), Dr. Schrambock said that Austria’s participation in Expo 2020 Dubai is a  to promote Austria as a reliable trading partner, an attractive investment hub and a global innovation leader.

She added that such a global platform offers Austrian companies endless opportunities to showcase their experiences to the world, especially as the event will see the participation of over 100 Austrian companies.

Dr Schrambock stressed that Expo 2020 Dubai enables companies and experts to present new ideas to audiences from around the world, besides being an ideal meeting ground for potential trading partners.

She said that Austria’s participation in Expo 2020 Dubai will contribute to developing UAE-Austrian economic relations, adding that Austrian companies will have the chance to showcase their latest innovations, which help address climate change, across environmental technology, life sciences and digital solutions fields.

The Minister explained that the UAE is Austria’s most important trading partner in the region, and highlighted the presence of branches of around 150 Austrian companies in the UAE.

Regarding the volume of Austria’s direct investments in the UAE, she affirmed that the UAE was ranked the 7th most important direct investment destination, with Austria’s direct investments in the UAE totalling €7.6 billion in 2020.

The UAE’s investments in Austria totalled 4.5 billion euro in 2020, while trade exchange between our countries reached 540 million euro, Dr. Schrambock concluded.

Separately, the Secretariat General of the Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC) and Airbus signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) at the ongoing Expo 2020 Dubai to boost cross-border security coordination and communication between GCC nations, starting with a first “proof of concept” implementation between 2 of the members .

The proof of concept (PoC) agreement, signed at the GCC’s exhibition stand at the Expo, will allow Airbus to test the interconnection of public safety critical networks on, and between the territories of two Gulf nations .

The MoU was signed by Maj. Gen. Hazaa Bin Mubarak El Hajri, Assistant Secretary of Security Affairs, Secretariat General of the Gulf Cooperation Council, and Selim Bouri, Head of Middle East, Africa and Asia Pacific for Secure Land Communications at Airbus.

‘’We welcome our partnership with the Secretariat General of the GCC and we thank them for their trust in our technology,”said Selim Bouri.

“We will use the Inter-System Interface to connect the two Critical Communication networks and pave the way for better, faster, and more effective collaboration between border security forces from the GCC nations. We will leverage the modern features of our Tetra systems to strengthen cross-border communication between Public Safety agencies, which is crucial at a time when we are facing numerous border security challenges. Under our POC agreement, our team of experts will test the key technical and operational aspects of this endeavor while deploying the highest levels of availability, privacy, and security that we provide.’’

“Airbus is working towards supporting the digital transformation objectives of the GCC. We are developing a detailed strategy to best address all mission- and business-critical requirements of GCC markets by building secure and seamless communication and collaboration networks. This latest MoU is a testament to this commitment,” Bouri added.

In another announcement, notable names from the world of cricket gathered at Expo 2020 Dubai as Rajasthan Royals Group - the owners of Expo-sponsored Indian Premier League franchise Rajasthan Royals - launched Next Innings, a digital community for cricket fans.

Ashes-winning former England captain Andrew Strauss, cricket broadcaster and former player Simon Hughes and Rajasthan Royals’ lead owner Manoj Badale took part in a question-and-answer session at the Garden on 1: Sports Lounge in Expo’s Mobility District.

The subject of innovation of cricket was on the agenda, in the context of the current IPL season and the forthcoming T20 Men’s World Cup - with the UAE playing host to games in both competitions - as well as addressing key issues facing the cricketing world.

The Next Innings initiative will tackle topics related to innovation in cricket and sports business, aiming to create a digital community of sports industry professionals and fans who take an interest in the subject. Earlier this year, a partnership between Expo 2020 and Rajasthan Royals was announced for the 14th season of the IPL, which began in India in April and is currently being played in the UAE.

As part of the association, Expo 2020 Dubai appears on the front of the Rajasthan Royals’ jersey as principal sponsor, helping to spread the Expo 2020 message to millions of cricket fans all over the world. As part of the Royal’s physical presence at Expo, the team will also host a cricketing coaching clinic.

Expo 2020’s sporting programming harnesses the unique power of sport to bring people together across 182 days in of heart-racing, skill-enhancing activities and diverse experiences that will leave a lasting impact on all who participate.

WAM