As the national vaccination campaign continues in full swing, yielding positive results, the UAE is working towards welcoming millions of people from around the world during its grand Expo 2020 in Dubai. In a recent interview with CNBC, Reem Al Hashimy, UAE Minister of State for International Cooperation, affirmed that there are no plans to cancel the Expo 2020. Adding that Dubai is all set to host the mega event, Al Hashimy, Director-General of Expo 2020 Dubai Bureau, expressed hope towards a better and stronger UAE in the next five months.

“With a strong vaccination rollout in different parts (of the world), we are actually beginning to see the strong impact of vaccination and reduced prevalence of disease in society," she said.

Responding to a question on whether the Expo would be open to vaccinated visitors only, she underlined no decision has been made yet on the same. The minister stressed all members of the community are being encouraged to take the vaccine in order to ensure their safety and wellbeing. She added that all Expo workforce will be mandatorily vaccinated before the opening of the event, but the rule is not yet enforced on regular tourists or visitors.

Al Hashimy further explained that several layers of preventing measures would be put in place by organisers, including rapid testing and mandatory RT-PCR tests. In addition, general COVID-19 safety protocols such as wearing of masks and physical distancing will continue to be followed at the Expo.

At the same time, the organisers are not planning on eliminating visitors of any specific nationalities in accordance with the pandemic situation in different geographies.

“We continue to believe that vortexes might emerge and decline as they have been during the course of this difficult journey. So, things will continue to be fluid. Now, we are looking more at variants rather than geographic locations," the minister added

Al Hashimy asserted that vaccination has been helpful in mitigating the newly-emerging variants of COVID-19. She further expressed hope in continuous efforts to vaccinate the maximum number of people in the country, not just for the Expo but for overall health of the world.

On whether the Expo 2020 will be able to achieve its target of 25 million visitors considering the surge in infections in India and Brazil, the minister stressed the authorities are aiming to reach out to everyone.

“There are still five months to go, and we are confident that our Indian colleagues and friends will be able to pick themselves up and be able to address the pandemic that they are seeing. And who knows, there might be other vortexes that might emerge," Al Hashimy said.

In this regard, the minister explained with the example of the UK which is gradually returning to normalcy after three months of strict lockdown. She expressed confidence in organising the mega event in the coming months with focus on administering vaccines to all members of the community.

With its successful national vaccination campaign, the UAE has emerged as one of the leading countries in the world to have vaccinated more than half of its population since beginning of the drive last year. The success rate of the vaccination campaign helped the UAE in hosting a physical gathering of over 370 delegates from countries across the world in Dubai on May 4-5 with confidence. The sixth International Participants Meeting is significantly the final gathering of countries, multilateral organisations, academic institutions and corporations before the launch of Expo 2020 Dubai.

“The world is recovering, and we are ready to welcome 190 countries to the world’s greatest event,” His Highness Sheikh Mohammed bin Rashid Al Maktoum, Vice-President and Prime Minister of the UAE and Ruler of Dubai, tweeted recently.

Al Hashimy noted that Dubai is prepared to host the event in a practical, responsible and safe way. She added that the recently-held IPM meeting demonstrated the ability and consciousness of UAE authorities in bringing everybody together in a safe and responsible manner.

"Dubai is all prepared to welcome the world. We are going to host this event; it will be a spectacular and great event. We are watching the data, and we have measures in place. This has been a 10-year journey. And it is not only about Dubai or the UAE, but also about all our participating countries. Everyone is keen on having this Expo," the minister added.