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Austria invests EURO 16.5 Million (AED 74.6 Million) in the next World Expo by signing an official participation contract for Expo 2020 Dubai at the innovation conference Austria Connect Gulf 2018 on March 18, 2018. Austria’s participation will cement its position as an innovation leader in the high-tech field of digitization, research and development as well as a strong and reliable partner in the Middle East region
H.E Dr Beatrix Karl, former minister and Commissioner General of Austria’s Expo 2020; Najeeb Mohammed Al-Ali, Executive Director at the Dubai Expo 2020 Bureau was present at the signing ceremony that was held at Palazzo Versace hotel in Dubai.
Commenting on Austria’s participation in the Expo 2020, Karl said: “The historical importance of world exhibitions, which had begun in the imperial era, has lost none of their fascination till date. A two-stage competition has been launched throughout Europe to help position Austria as an innovation leader in this high-tech field of digitization, research and development. We believe that the theme “Opportunity’ should not only include innovation but also have ample space for creativity, high-quality education, tourism, culture and hospitality. We have set high targets to position Austria as a strong and reliable partner in the Middle East region and before an international audience of millions. Two million visitors visited the Austrian Expo Pavilion in Milan in 2015. Ten per cent of these visitors visited the Austrian Pavilion alone. We aim to beat this record in the UAE.”
Austria Connect Gulf 2018, a trans-regional event, was attended by industry visionaries and eminent thought leaders across diverse sectors to discuss the main theme of Austria Connect Gulf 2018: ‘Improvement versus Innovation.’ This year's discussion went deep into the current developments in the region and evaluated questions such as: Are start up programs, incubators and host competitions innovative enough to attract the best of the world to the region or are they just an improvement over existing solutions? How do the individual Gulf States handle the topic of innovation and how do that compare to front runners like Singapore and what role could Austrian companies play?
This conference also discussed the increasing investments in renewable energy, smart city technologies, security or software for e-government, medical, education and traffic solutions that are testament to the Gulf countries’ faith in these systems. Austria Connect Gulf 2018 also highlighted how becoming innovation hubs have prompted Gulf States to take concrete measures in their efforts to diversify away from a fossil fuel based economy.
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