Today’s creative innovations provide basis for smart, safe, clean mobility in years ahead: Belgium Commissioner-General
By Lina Ibrahim
DUBAI, 1st November, 2021 – Belgium Pavilion at Expo 2020 Dubai is committed to soft mobility and is based on the emergence of green, dense and connected cities, its Commissioner-General has said.
In a statement to the Emirates News Agency (WAM), Patrick Vercauteren Drubbel said that the “Green Arch”, as the pavilion is named, aims to exhibit Belgian industrial, technological and scientific know-how internationally.
“This arched, floral monolith, sober and elegant, reflects our “belgitude”, a clever mix between Latin romanticism in the field of art and Anglo-Saxon technical precision in the industrial branches,” Drubbel said.
Located in the Mobility District, over an area of 500 square metres, the Belgium Pavilion brings together Belgian thinkers and entrepreneurs to sketch their vision for the year 2050.
“Today’s creative innovations provide the basis for smart, safe and clean mobility in the years ahead,” Drubbel said, adding that this vision for the future is simulated in the pavilion offering a gaze into the future of Belgian mobility technologies and innovations.
When entering the Belgium Pavilion, visitors are guided by the popular and famous Comics, who act as narrators of the exhibition content.
“Comics play an integral role in our culture and heritage and Belgian comics are a distinct subgroup in the history of the comic, having played a major role in the development of European comics,” Drubbel explained.
Belgium Pavilion also presents a multifunctional fully equipped business centre (BE-Bizz) where people can connect and attend events.
“It aims to centralise ideas, people, innovations and cultures and build a durable path to the future; a path extending not only during the six months of Expo 2020 Dubai but far beyond, for many years to come,” Drubbel said.
For those who want to relax and socialise, the pavilion offers a rooftop terrace with a lounge area that serves a set of traditional Belgian specialities in a luxurious yet cozy setting.
“One thing we are good at is enjoying good food with good friends in a beautiful setting.
This is exactly what you are able to do in our high-quality brasserie and takeaway kiosks,” Drubbel said.
The Commissioner-General praised the efforts of the UAE’s authorities in preparing and organising for the event since 2013, the date when the International Bureau of Exhibitions chose Dubai for the organisation of the Universal Exhibition of 2020.
“Since 2013, I have had the opportunity to meet various members of the organisation several times.
I have been to Dubai many times, and had the pleasure to see how the Expo site and all its surroundings have been transformed during these eight years of preparation,” Drubbel added.
He went on to say that Expo 2020 Dubai is the first major global event since the outbreak of the coronavirus pandemic.
“It is a unique opportunity for political, economic, academic and cultural representatives from all over the world to meet and discuss together the lessons to be drawn from the pandemic and to reflect on the future evolution of life around the globe,” he said.
Drubbel expressed hope that the evolution of the coronavirus pandemic is under control and that little by little society will be able to return to a normal way of life, the way experienced before the pandemic.
He described the relationship between the Kingdom of Belgium and the UAE as “excellent and always has been”.
“Trade and economic relations between our two countries are developing year by year and it is a great pleasure to be able to contribute through the Belgian pavilion at Expo 2020 Dubai to the strengthening of our bilateral relations,” he concluded.
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