emirates7 - His Highness Sheikh Mohammed bin Rashid Al Maktoum, Vice President and Prime Minister of the UAE and Ruler of Dubai, today met with Mary Simon, the Governor- General of Canada, who is currently visiting the country to participate in her country's National Day celebrations at Expo 2020 Dubai.

The meeting was attended by His Highness Sheikh Maktoum bin Mohammed bin Rashid Al Maktoum, Deputy Ruler of Dubai, Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of Finance; His Highness Sheikh Mansoor bin Mohammed bin Rashid Al Maktoum, and a number of ministers and senior officials.

During the meeting, which took place at the Canadian pavilion at Expo 2020 Dubai, His Highness discussed with the Governor General of Canada ways to expand bilateral relations and promote greater business, trade and investment cooperation in various sectors. Both sides explored new avenues to establish partnerships and expand ties using the Expo 2020 platform. The discussions touched on the exceptional opportunities that Expo 2020 Dubai provides countries across the world to identify productive cooperation that can serve the people of their countries and a better future for all of humanity.

The Governor General of Canada commended the exceptional organisation of Expo 2020 Dubai, noting that the country’s participation under the theme ‘The Future in Mind’ has enabled it to showcase its culture and economic opportunities to the world. Canada’s pavilion features an immersive journey through its past, present and future, and invites visitors to discover the values that drive a spirit of innovation and collaboration. The pavilion serves as a platform to promote opportunities for trade, investment, education, tourism and immigration, from across Canada. The country’s participation highlights its leadership in key sectors, including artificial intelligence (AI), robotics, education, digitisation, telemedicine, clean technology, agriculture, health sciences, aerospace and more.

His Highness Sheikh Mohammed bin Rashid also visited the Expo 2020 pavilions of the Philippines, Portugal, Venezuela and the Dubai Electricity and Water Authority. At the Philippines pavilion, His Highness was taken on an immersive trip through the nation’s aquatic wonderlands, an imaginative coral village packed with artistic wonders which convey a powerful message about safeguarding marine life. The pavilion’s bold, free-flowing design simulates the coral ecosystem, while light filtering and other effects lend it a magically oceanic feel. The pavilion reflects how Filipino culture embraces openness and meaningful encounters, connected around the world through travel, migration, and technology. The multi-level structure of the pavilion is built on the idea of connectivity and permeability, enabling visitors to experience the island nation and its resilient, creative people. It showcases a nation with millennia of history, a sustainable culture and a vibrant vision of its future.

At the Portugal pavilion, His Highness was briefed on its exhibits that highlight the human spirit through the diversity and inclusiveness of Portugal’s people. The pavilion reflects Portugal’s culture of creativity and innovation and reveals an ecosystem of great opportunities. His Highness was taken on a journey through the imagination and achievements of the Portuguese people, unveiling the world that exists within Portugal. The pavilion pairs the symbolic narrative of hope, talent, innovation and reinvention with a sensory experience to reveal the humanistic values that bind Portugal to the world. Under the theme ‘A World in One Country’, the Portugal pavilion encapsulates the nation’s multicultural spirit, its trajectory of discovery and its ever-present connection to the sea.

During his visit to the Venezuelan pavilion, His Highness was taken on an immersive journey of the country’s eight regions and its magnificent geographical and cultural heritage. In a space inspired by the great Venezuelan master of kinetic art Carlos Cruz-Diez, the pavilion with its colourful Shabono - inspired circular architecture and luminous central skylight brings the nation’s timeless collaborative spirit to Expo 2020 Dubai. Shabonos are grand, ring-like communal huts that the indigenous Yanomami people of Venezuela’s Amazon rainforest have dwelled in for centuries. The pavilion’s exhibits focus on Venezuela’s greatest resources: its people and natural beauty. Visitors to the pavilion can explore the country’s rich folklore and craftsmanship, discover its incredible sand-to-snow ecological diversity and unwind with fresh coffee and chocolate at the pavilion’s restaurant and tasting room.

His Highness also visited the Dubai Electricity and Water Authority’s (DEWA) pavilion at Expo 2020 Dubai. He was received at the pavilion by Saeed Mohammed Al Tayer, Managing Director & CEO of DEWA. His Highness was briefed on the pavilion’s exhibits that showcase DEWA’s efforts to contribute to making Dubai the smartest and happiest city in the world through pioneering projects and initiatives, especially in clean, renewable and Fourth Industrial Revolution technologies, and become the world’s first digital utility. DEWA’s pavilion at Expo 2020 Dubai showcases its key projects and initiatives, including the Mohammed bin Rashid Al Maktoum Solar Park, the largest single-site solar park in the world; the Green Hydrogen project, the first of its kind in the Middle East and North Africa to produce hydrogen using solar energy; Digital DEWA, its digital arm of DEWA, which aims to make DEWA the first digital utility in the world with autonomous systems for renewable energy and storage with the expansion in AI and digital services; and the 250MW hydroelectric pumped-storage power plant in Hatta, among others.