His Highness Sheikh Mohammed bin Rashid Al Maktoum, Vice President of the UAE, Prime Minister, and Ruler of Dubai, affirmed that the emphasis on the concept of "mobility" at the Expo 2020 Dubai is not unfounded, as the world's civilizations have grown and flourished primarily based on the idea of movement and the opening of societies to new and distant regions, whether for trade, the pursuit of sciences and knowledge, or achieving discoveries that marked human development throughout various historical periods. Mobility has also played a significant role in strengthening ties between peoples and achieving convergence among communities, leading to humanity's advancements beyond Earth and into space for the purpose of uncovering its secrets to ensure a better future for humanity.
This came during his visit to Expo 2020 Dubai, accompanied by His Highness Sheikh Maktoum bin Mohammed bin Rashid Al Maktoum, Deputy Ruler of Dubai, Deputy Prime Minister, and Minister of Finance, and His Highness Sheikh Ahmed bin Mohammed bin Rashid Al Maktoum, Chairman of Dubai Media Council, along with His Highness Sheikh Mansoor bin Mohammed bin Rashid Al Maktoum. The visit underscores Sheikh Mohammed's keen interest in exploring the innovations and new ideas presented at this global event, along with significant features representing the history and cultures of 192 countries participating in the largest edition of the expo over its 170-year history, marking its first occurrence in the Middle East, Africa, and South Asia.
His Highness's tour included a visit to the Mobility Pavilion, which showcases the ways humans interact and move goods, ideas, and data; highlighting how these methods have evolved over time to become more complex and impactful than ever before. Mobility is no longer limited to goods and people; it now encompasses information, data, and ideas. The pavilion highlights the contributions of Arabs to human revival, dating from ancient explorations to the UAE's role in fostering the future of space explorations through the "Emirates Mars Mission" and the announcement of its ambitious project to reach Venus.
During his visit to the Mobility Pavilion, a key landmark of Expo 2020 Dubai, His Highness listened to an explanation about the pavilion's components, narrating the history of mobility starting from the desert of Dubai approximately 4,500 years ago, particularly from the "Sarooq Al Hadid" area, which had strong relations with the peoples of the Arabian Peninsula, the Levant, and West Asia. In the "House of Wisdom" corner dating back to the ninth century, he observed models of figures from the Golden Age of Arab civilization who significantly contributed to mobility and travel, including the navigator Ahmad ibn Majid and the explorer Ibn Battuta, in recognition of their roles in advancing global mobility over centuries.
His Highness continued through the pavilion to witness the evolution of transportation concepts and means over time, leading to the twenty-first century, where the pavilion transports visitors to a data-rich virtual world before guiding them to a future city, showcasing features of future mobility while highlighting the significant progress made by the UAE over the past fifty years in aviation, logistics, smart cities, as well as its expansion in space sciences and discoveries through the National Space Program and the Emirates Mars Mission "Hope Probe."
Additionally, His Highness visited the pavilion of the friendly Republic of Hungary, located in the "Jubilee" area, notable for its double wooden structure constructed using dry construction technology, which significantly reduces the need for water, reflecting one of the important principles promoted by Expo 2020 Dubai: sustainability and environmental conservation. He toured the pavilion, which bears the slogan "Roots of Hungarian Waters," representing Hungary's nature known for having the largest number of hot springs in Europe with over 1,300 natural thermal springs spread across its territory, utilized in various fields, most notably in healing and therapy.
Through the interactive technologies within the pavilion, His Highness learned about the diverse uses of the hot springs in Hungary, particularly in promoting the therapeutic tourism sector, followed by establishing health resorts providing healing services with the hot spring waters and their various therapeutic benefits. He also witnessed a three-dimensional visual presentation that transports visitors to the heart of one of the hot spring lakes frequented by visitors all year round, even in winter.
