Switzerland to participate in the 2020 World Expo in Dubai
At its meeting today, the Federal Council decided to participate in the 2020 World Expo in Dubai, the theme of which will be "Connecting Minds, Creating the Future". The total budget for Switzerland's presence will be CHF 15 million, half of which is to come from sponsorship activities. Dubai Expo 2020 will offer a promising communication platform on which to highlight Switzerland's strengths in the fields of education, research, innovation, business and foreign policy. The Federal Council has mandated Presence Switzerland within the FDFA to start the preparatory work and to submit the dispatch to the Federal Assembly to apply for the credit commitment in early 2017.
Dubai (United Arab Emirates, UAE) is to host the next category A world fair from 20 October 2020 to 10 April 2021. The theme is "Connecting Minds, Creating the Future", and sub-themes are "Opportunity, Mobility and Sustainability". Organisers anticipate some 25 million visitors (30% from the UAE and 70% from abroad). They expect 182 countries to participate.
Given the economic and political significance of the host country and the geopolitical weight of the Gulf region, the Federal Council decided that Switzerland would participate in Expo 2020 in Dubai. Switzerland's presence will be a unique opportunity to present the country and its research capacity and innovation in the fields of renewable energies, mobility and the environment to a wider public.
Participating in Dubai Expo 2020 is also of great interest to Swiss companies and the tourism sector given the region's economic potential. Numerous Swiss companies have chosen Dubai as a location from which to support their regional and international customer base. In economic terms, the UAE is Switzerland's most important partner in the Gulf region. In 2015, Swiss exports to the region totalled over CHF 5 billion. With a trade volume of around CHF 8.8 billion, the UAE was Switzerland's 15th largest trading partner in 2015.
Switzerland can also utilise the Expo 2020 platform to showcase its political commitment in the fields of peacebuilding and good offices in the UAE and throughout the Gulf, and to cultivate links to other countries in the region in line with its foreign policy interests and priorities.
In the view of the Federal Council, participating in Dubai Expo 2020 is therefore in line with Switzerland's scientific, economic and foreign policy interests. Against this backdrop and in consideration of the financial situation, the Federal Council decided to reduce the overall budget for Switzerland's presence at Dubai Expo 2020 compared with the Expo Milan 2015 from CHF 24 million to CHF 15 million, and to increase the share covered by sponsors from around one third to at least 50%.
The significance of world fairs
Major international events such as world fairs are high-profile platforms that attract a great deal of attention from the media and the public, both at the venue and internationally. Switzerland is a founding member of the "Bureau International des Expositions", which has been organising world fairs since 1928, and has participated in the majority of those held to date, both in category A (universal expositions lasting six months) and in category B (themed expositions lasting three months).
Switzerland's participation in world fairs is an important element of its communication abroad. It gives Switzerland the opportunity to showcase its strengths in the areas of politics, business, science, education, tourism and cultural diversity. Such events generate high visitor numbers and extensive media coverage, as shown by Switzerland's presence at the last World Expo in Milan in 2015; the Federal Council took note of the final report on this event at today's meeting. At the Milan World Expo, 2.1 million people visited the Swiss Pavilion, i.e. around 10% of all visitors. The Swiss Pavilion received an award for best interpretation of the theme and was the most frequently cited foreign pavilion in the Italian media. In total, it generated over 1,650 media reports and some 164 million digital interactions. Switzerland's presence offered an effective platform to deepen bilateral relations and allowed the partners of the Pavilion to successfully present themselves to a wide audience in an important export market for Switzerland.
Switzerland at the Expo 2015: final review of public diplomacy activities in Italy (in German)
