Interview: UAE official looks forward to successful Shanghai World Expo

ABU DHABI, Jan. 20 (Xinhua) -- The 2010 World Expo, slated for May 1 to Oct. 31 in the eastern Chinese city of Shanghai, will achieve great success and the United Arab Emirates (UAE) takes pride in participating in the event, a senior official said in a recent interview with Xinhua.

"We have no doubt that this will be a hugely successful Expo and are proud to be part of it," said Ibrahim Al Abed, director general of the National Media Council.

Al Abed praised the Expo's organizers for their elaborate planning for the event, saying he was deeply impressed by the youthfulness of many Expo team members and their complete dedication to serving the needs of Expo participants.

"We recognize that there are many challenges to organize and host such an event and believe that the Chinese organizers are meeting these challenges," he added.

On the UAE's preparatory work for the Expo, the official said his country began planning for the event about four years ago and has been working intensively on the project for more than two years.

"Architects were appointed to design the building in the spring of 2008. Following a review process, it was decided to design a unique building inspired by the country's massive and curvaceous desert sand dunes," he said.

According to Al Abed, the resulting design blended modern construction and materials with the organic form of the dunes to create a most unusual building and one that truly evokes the character of the country it represents.

"The architects did not just base the shape of the building on sand dunes, they studied the particular form of dunes found in the famous Rub al Khali desert, one of the world's largest sand deserts, and tried to emulate key features of the dunes whilst creating an energy efficient structure adapted to the particular climatic conditions of Shanghai," the official said.

He said the whole building is clad in tiles that can reflect the light, just like the dunes appearing in various shades and hues as the sun moves across the sky, adding that at night, the highly reflective surface picks up light from the surrounding area and is never static.

"A unique feature of the UAE Pavilion is that it has been designed and built so that it can be dismantled, transported and reconstructed after the Expo closes on Oct. 31, 2010," Al Abed said.

The National Media Council has already signed an agreement on the follow-up arrangements for the pavilion with Abu Dhabi's Tourism Development & Investment Corporation, the body responsible for creating many major cultural and tourism venues in the UAE capital, he said.

"Inside, the pavilion is divided into a series of 'experiences' through which visitors will come to understand the great challenges that the UAE has faced and how its present plans are based on detailed planning and the experience gained of creating sustainable energy solutions through both traditional and modern architectural and engineering solutions," the official added.

Al Abed noted that the UAE will seize this opportunity to spread knowledge of the Gulf nation to the Chinese people, so as to further friendly relations between the two countries.

"As with previous Expos, the UAE will have impressive traditional music and dancing teams together with other folkloric displays that will run outside of the pavilion itself and will perform at other venues in Shanghai. These always generate strong interest and we look forward to sharing our culture with the Chinese people," he said.

by Sun Ruijun