Sheikh Mohammed bin Rashid visits Alif - The Mobility Pavilion at Expo 2020 Dubai

Sheikh Mohammed bin Rashid Al Maktoum, Vice President and Prime Minister of the UAE and Ruler of Dubai, today visited Alif – The Mobility Pavilion and the Hungary Pavilion at Expo 2020 Dubai.

Sheikh Mohammed bin Rashid Al Maktoum was accompanied during the visit by Sheikh Maktoum bin Mohammed bin Rashid Al Maktoum, Deputy Ruler of Dubai, Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of Finance; Sheikh Ahmed bin Mohammed bin Rashid Al Maktoum, Chairman of the Dubai Media Council; and  Sheikh Mansoor bin Mohammed bin Rashid Al Maktoum.

Speaking during the tour, Sheikh Mohammed bin Rashid said Expo 2020 Dubai’s focus on mobility provides an opportunity to explore how new advances in transport and travel can accelerate mankind’s progress. Innovative forms of transport are not only helping strengthen ties between different societies but also widening our civilisational horizons and creating a better future for humanity, he said.

During his visit to the Mobility Pavilion, one of the main landmarks at Expo 2020 Dubai, he was briefed on the main features of the Pavilion, which highlights the history of mobility in the region.

The Pavilion offers visitors an immersive, time-spanning journey through the spectrum of human movement and progress. It seeks to challenge, surprise and inspire visitors by showing them how mobility is more than just transport, encompassing the mobility of people, data, ideas and our natural environment. The Mobility Pavilion also highlights the key contributions of Arabs, starting from ancient explorations to the UAE’s contribution to space explorations through its Emirates Mars Mission and ambitious project to explore the planet Venus.

He also visited the ‘House of Wisdom’ located within the Pavilion, which features the most celebrated figures from the Golden Age of Arab Civilisation, who have made significant contributions in the field of mobility and travel. Some of the key figures featured include Ahmad bin Majid, also known as the ‘Lion of the Sea’, a navigator and cartographer and Ibn Battuta, the renowned Muslim Berber Moroccan traveller who crisscrossed Asia, Africa and the Middle East, eventually covering nearly 120,000 km.

The final stop in the Pavilion takes visitors to a world of imagination and possibility. Here, future cities imagined by children are projected in an immersive space that explores the limitless possibilities that lay ahead for mankind.

He also visited the Hungarian Pavilion located in the Jubilee area, where he was briefed on the country’s rich natural resources. Set up under the theme ‘Aqua Roots of Hungary’, the Pavilion is the first wooden structure in the Gulf region and was constructed without using a single drop of water, in line with the expo’s theme of sustainability.

The country’s Pavilion allows visitors to immerse themselves in a relaxing, healing and rehabilitative experience as the country spotlights its unique, mineral-rich thermal springs. The Pavilion also sheds light on the healing power of water and balneotherapy – the ancient treatment of ailments by bathing in thermal mineral waters. In an interactive exhibition that reveals the origins of Hungary’s thermal springs, visitors can soak up the country’s wellness and spa culture – and how it is buoying the country’s health tourism industry.

Being held for the first time in the Middle East, Africa and South Asia region, Expo 2020 Dubai houses the pavilions of 192 countries participating in the event as well as those of diverse organisations from across the world. The global show runs for 182 days until 31 March 2022.