The Second International Participants Meeting for Expo Dubai 2020 was held in Dubai from October 19 to 20. A Chinese delegation, led by Wang Jinzhen, Vice Chairman of China Council for the Promotion of International Trade (CCPIT), who is also the Chief Delegate of China to Bureau of International Exhibitions (BIE) participated in the meeting. More than 500 delegates from more than 180 countries in the world were in attendance.

The two-day meeting included the opening ceremony, theme introduction, discussions on special topics and tour of the expo site. The organizers of Expo Dubai 2020 released to the participants the site plan, exhibition service plan, publicity and marketing plan. Relevant countries and enterprise sponsors shared the preparatory work for the expo, which has been undergoing smoothly up to now. The Middle East city is right now counting down the event three years prior to its inception.

Expo Dubai 2020 is a Universal Exposition approved by the Bureau International des Expositions (BIE). It is scheduled for six months from October 20, 2020 to April 10, 2021 in Dubai, the United Arab Emirates. The Expo will be the first to be held in the MENA & SA (Middle East and North Africa & South Asia) region. It is estimated that about 200 participating parties and more than 25 million visitors will attend the expo. Themed at “Connecting Minds, Creating the Future”, the Expo will mainly demonstrate the world how to join hands to face challenges through innovation, and how to create a better future. The three sub-themes are Sustainability, Mobility and Opportunity. China confirmed its participation on May 2, 2017 and selected “Opportunities” as its sub-theme. China will build an extra large pavilion, which will cover an area of 4,636 square meters.

During the meeting, Wang Jinzhen also promoted the International Horticultural Exhibition 2019, Beijing. Bangladesh has already confirmed its participation for the 2019 event.