Forging strategic partnership

His Highness Sheikh Mohammed Bin Rashid Al Maktoum, Vice President and Prime Minister of the UAE and Ruler of Dubai, met with Valentina Matviyenko, Chairwoman of the Federation Council of the Federal Assembly of the Russian Federation, at the country’s Pavilion at Expo 2020 Dubai. The meeting discussed ways to bolster cooperation between the UAE and Russia in various sectors.

During the meeting, Sheikh Mohammed highlighted the strong ties between the two nations. Later, His Highness went on a tour of the Russian Pavilion that showcases the country’s accomplishments in various sectors including industry, science, technology, environment and sustainability.

The Chairwoman of Russia’s Federation Council spoke about new avenues to expand bilateral relations, building on the collaboration between the two nations in the last 50 years. The two leaders highlighted the keenness of both nations to further enhance the scope of cooperation.

Sheikh Mohammed Bin Rashid Al Maktoum also met with Sardor Umurzakov, Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of Investments and Foreign Trade of the Republic of Uzbekistan, at the country’s pavilion at Expo 2020 Dubai.

During the meeting, Sheikh Mohammed said that Uzbekistan is a major strategic partner for the UAE in the Central Asian region and reiterated the country’s keenness to further expand the scale of collaboration with Uzbekistan to include new sectors that are critical to future development.

Sheikh Mohammed and Umurzakov also attended the signing of an agreement on Uzbekistan becoming a member of the World Logistics Passport. The agreement was signed by Sultan Ahmed Bin Sulayem, Group Chairman and Chief Executive Officer of DP World, and Shukhrat Vafaev, Deputy Minister, Ministry of Investments and Foreign Trade of the Republic of Uzbekistan.

Sheikh Mohammed also toured the Uzbek Pavilion located in the Sustainability District. He was briefed about the Pavilion, which takes visitors on a journey through rich gems of the past and new developments that are creating a bright future for the country. Sardor Umurzakov highlighted the robust relationship and longstanding strategic partnership between the two nations.

Sheikh Mohammed was accompanied by Sheikh Maktoum Bin Mohammed Bin Rashid Al Maktoum, Deputy Ruler of Dubai and Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of Finance; Sheikh Ahmed Bin Mohammed Bin Rashid Al Maktoum, Chairman of the Dubai Media Council; and Sheikh Ahmed Bin Saeed Al Maktoum, Chairman of the Dubai Civil Aviation Authority and Chairman and Chief Executive of Emirates Airline and Group; along with senior officials.

Earlier, Uzbekistan has celebrated its National Day at Expo 2020 Dubai which started with a flag-raising ceremony and national anthems of the UAE and Uzbekistan at Al Wasl Plaza.

Sheikh Nahyan Bin Mubarak Al Nahyan, Minister of Tolerance and Coexistence, and Commissioner General of Expo 2020 Dubai welcomed Sardor Umurzakov, Uzbekistan Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of Investments and Foreign Trade who praised the unique and enriching participation at Expo 2020 Dubai — the first time Uzbekistan has had its pavilion at a World Expo.

Sheikh Nahyan said, “Uzbekistan’s participation takes us on a journey through the Silk Road, and its main cities of Samarkand, Bukhara and Khiva, which portray the historic and strategic importance of Uzbekistan as a focal point for trade and scientific discoveries through the ages. The pavilion showcases Uzbekistan’s contribution to global industries through dynamic displays of its technological advancements, and by taking us on a transformative journey into the future, where Uzbekistan’s latest projects and technologies are displayed for all of us to explore and gain knowledge from.”

For his part, Umurzakov, said, “I would like to congratulate organisers of Expo 2020 Dubai for the great success in organising this impressive event. It is a great honour for me to participate at the celebration of the National Day of Uzbekistan at Expo 2020 Dubai. This is the first time we have presented our country through our pavilion, which I believe is a good sign reflecting the importance of our strengthening ties with the UAE. We highly value our relationship with the UAE and I am confident that our partnership will grow stronger in the near future.”

The Uzbekistan Pavilion takes visitors through a journey through time, highlighting the mobility of people, cultures and ideas with the potential to shape the future.

Located in the Sustainability District, it illustrates the country’s heritage, including Samarkand, one of the oldest cities in the world, which was established in 7th century BC, as well as its achievements, priorities for development, international ties and progress towards the Sustainable Development Goals.

National and Honour Days at Expo 2020 Dubai are moments to celebrate the International Participants, shining a light on their culture and achievements and showcasing their pavilions and programming. Each features a flag-raising ceremony at the Stage of Nations in Al Wasl Plaza, followed by speeches and cultural performances.

UAE, Philippines ties: Ahmed Ali Al Sayegh, Minister of State, met on Wednesday with Ramon M. Lopez, Secretary of the Department of Trade and Industry of Philippines, at Expo 2020 Dubai.

During the meeting, they discussed relations between the UAE and the Philippines, and strengthening cooperation in all fields.

The sides also exchanged views on trade and economic issues and ways to enhance bilateral relations.

Al Sayegh praised the Philippines Pavilion at Expo 2020 Dubai and the active participation of the Philippines in this global event, underscoring the strong relations between their countries and the variety of opportunities available to enhance cooperation in various fields.

Lopez expressed his admiration for Expo 2020 Dubai and the pavilions of participating countries, and congratulated the UAE for its remarkable success in organising this global event despite having to deal with COVID-19, noting that it is a first for his country to build an independent pavilion at a World Expo.

He added that the upcoming visit of the Philippines’ President next February to participate in the activities of the Philippines National Day, to be hosted by Expo 2020 Dubai, will produce many opportunities for cooperation.

Innovation impact report: An event hosted at Expo 2020 Dubai recently has seen the launch of a new innovation impact report by UBI Global, in partnership with District 2020. As an Innovation Ecosystem partner, UBI Global is collaborating with District 2020 on initiatives focused on fostering and sharing business incubation best practices and networking, to support entrepreneurship growth, and in line with District 2020’s focus on curating a global innovation ecosystem.

The report by the Sweden-based intelligence company and powered by the tech company Global Innovation Studios, examined the impact of the pandemic and social and governance initiatives, on innovators in the global business community. Along with incubators and accelerators, the report also revealed the impact of these external factors on corporate innovation teams.

Bringing together contributions and success stories from organisations in more than 45 countries, the study was fittingly launched at Expo 2020 Dubai. Expo 2020 brings together innovation, creativity and collaboration, under a mission that will be continued when the mega-event comes to an end and the site transitions into District 2020, a human-centric future city to live, work and explore. District 2020 has been designed to create a blueprint for a smart and sustainable community where people and businesses collaborate to create a more balanced, resilient and sustainable way of life. As an innovation ecosystem, District 2020 will support the growth of key industries and technologies that are shaping the future of sustainable urban environments in a post-pandemic world.

During the event, a panel of the world’s top-ranked business incubators and accelerators including SETsquared (the United Kingdom), GVA (the Russian Federation), DMZ (Canada) and Plug and Play (UAE) also undertook a deep dive into the study’s results. A further panel discussion on corporate start-up collaboration led by Founder Institute’s Regional Director Sameer Sortur featured innovation experts from Dubai’s leading businesses including Emirates, Etisalat, and Siemens.

Tala Al Ansari, Director of District 2020 Innovation Ecosystem and Scale2Dubai, said: “We’re delighted to support UBI Global in the release of this report on innovation as a part of our commitment to supporting start-ups and knowledge creation. Dubai is already a leading global center for entrepreneurship, knowledge transfer, and innovation; offering an ideal launchpad for SMEs and global talent. District 2020 aims to contribute to the emirate’s future vision by providing a global innovation ecosystem and community that facilitates co-creation between organisations of all sizes from start-ups to Fortune 500 companies to government entities through matchmaking, events, pilot projects in our living lab and more.

‘’We believe that with great challenges, come great learning opportunities. We are excited to see and share the success stories of global businesses triumphing through the pandemic as a result of innovation.”

Also announced at the event was the next World Incubation Summit, due to be held at District 2020 in the fourth quarter of 2022 following its transition and launch as a vibrant community that will evolve from Expo 2020 Dubai. The World Incubation Summit will bring together more than 500 attendees across global start-up programmes and corporate innovation teams to take part in a rich line-up of workshops, networking, tours, pitches, a Gala Night and Awards Ceremony. The World Incubation Summit is also where UBI Global announces the World Rankings of business incubators and accelerators as the result of the World Benchmark Study, due to commence in the Spring of 2022.

Ali Amin, Co-founder and CEO of UBI Global, commented: “Expo 2020 is the perfect place to release the Triumph of Innovation report in partnership with District 2020, and to announce next year’s World Incubation Summit, to be held here, supporting the growth of the innovation ecosystem and community that will evolve after Expo. We are looking forward to sharing the success stories that have come out of the study and recognising GVA from Russia for their success story from the business incubators and accelerators participating in the study, as well as AK Bank Lab of Turkey as the corporate innovation team that met the pandemic challenge. ‘’

‘’We are also delighted to honourably mention the success of business accelerator Aalto Startup Center from Finland and corporate innovation team of Sberbank (Russia) for their initiatives during a difficult time. Dubai is a rich launch pad for start-ups and innovation, and we’re excited to watch how it progresses over the coming months and years and we’re pleased to partner with District 2020 to propel this further.”