The General Assembly of the Bureau International des Expositions (BIE) has approved the request of the UAE government and its Executive Committee to postpone Dubai Expo 2020 to next year.

With a BIE General Assembly impossible to stage due to Covid-19 restrictions, Member States voted remotely on the BIE Executive Committee’s recommendation for a delay as proposed by the UAE Government at the beginning of April and recommended by the BIE Executive Committee on April 21.

While the vote remains open until May 29, the two-thirds threshold was surpassed within a week of voting opening on April 24.

“The postponement of Expo 2020 Dubai to October 1, 2021- March 31, 2022 is set to be approved by the BIE with the change of dates having already surpassed the required two-thirds threshold. On the proposal of the Executive Committee, the General Assembly of the BIE began voting remotely on April 24 and will continue until May 29.

“BIE regulations stipulate that a two-thirds majority of Member States holding the right to vote is required for the dates of an Expo to be changed,” it said in a statement on Monday.

“We welcome the decision of BIE Member States to support the delay of Expo 2020 Dubai by one year. We are thankful to Member States for their continued commitment to contributing to a World Expo in Dubai that will play a pivotal role in shaping our post-pandemic world at a time when it will be most needed,” said Sheikh Ahmed bin Saeed Al Maktoum, Chairman of Dubai Airports, President of the Dubai Civil Aviation Authority, Chairman and CEO of Emirates Group, and Chairman of the Expo 2020 Dubai Higher Committee.

“This affirmation by the international community of Dubai’s offering and its ability to deliver, further strengthens our commitment to matching ambition with achievement to hosting an event that will capture the world’s imagination, when the time is right,” he said.

“I applaud the swift response by BIE Member States. Their support for the postponement of Expo 2020 Dubai – which will be formally approved on May 29 – is a renewed sign of solidarity and demonstrates the shared will to work together in ‘creating the future’,” said Dimitri S. Kerkentzes, Secretary General of the BIE.

“In their support for the one-year postponement of Expo 2020 Dubai, Member States of the BIE are giving the world the opportunity to reconvene in 2021, when together, we can address the challenges facing humanity and celebrate the unity and solidarity that strengthen us. With its theme ‘Connecting Minds, Creating the Future’, Expo 2020 Dubai will offer the world a unique platform to share the lessons, solutions and ideas for a better tomorrow.”

Itwas unanimously agreed to maintain the name ‘Expo 2020 Dubai’.

Source: www.khaleejtimes.com

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