Cuba will participate in the World Expo 2020 in Dubai, the United Arab Emirates, set for October 1st, 2021 through March 31st, 2022.

Havana, Cuba.- Promoted as the largest event ever held in the Arab world, the Expo will welcome representatives from more than 190 nations and millions of visitors from around the world.

Under the theme "Connecting Minds, Creating the Future," this year’s event will focus on the three main issues: mobility, opportunity, and sustainability.

Originally scheduled for 20 October 2020 – 10 April 2021, the World Expo was postponed due to the COVID-19 pandemic.

For the first time in World Expo history, every participating country will have its own pavilion. Organizers said the aim is for visitors to have a chance to enjoy immersive cultural experiences and discover what makes each country unique.

The Cuban pavilion, sponsored by the Cuban Chamber of Commerce, will offer visitors details about the country’s culture and traditions, cuisine, music, dance, as well as the country’s economy, Cuban society, and environmental issues.

The Cuban Chamber of Commerce and the United Arab Emirates Federation of the Chambers of Commerce and Industry signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) this past April, aimed at strengthening bilateral ties.

Cuba and the United Arab Emirates established diplomatic relations in 2002. However, it was not until 2015 that the Arab country opened its embassy in Havana, a move reciprocated by the Caribbean state in 2018 with the opening of a Cuban embassy in Abu Dhabi.

In 2020, on a request from authorities in the United Arab Emirates, a contingent of Cuba’s Henry Reeve Medical Brigade traveled to the Arab country to assist in the confrontation against COVID-19.

The United Arab Emirates has long supported the Cuban people’s cause against the US blockade. The Arab country also supports economic and social development projects on the Caribbean island state. (RHC)