US pavilion at Expo Dubai set for completion after funding is secured

John Rakolta, the US Ambassador to the UAE, makes announcement, says Dubai Expo is top priority for embassy

The construction of the US pavilion at Expo 2020 Dubai, now taking place next year, will be completed in November, according to a top official.

John Rakolta, the US Ambassador to the UAE, announced the date on Tuesday during a virtual media roundtable.

"The construction of the pavilion is progressing according to our schedule. We look forward to substantial buildings’ completion sometime around 15th November," he said in comments published by state news agency WAM.

The UAE has contributed $60 million towards the construction of the US Pavilion and the remaining amount will be raised by various US organisations, Rakolta said without revealing the total cost.

"It [the expo participation] is one of the [US] embassy’s top priorities. We look forward to the very best of American participation. It gives us an opportunity to celebrate the UAE’s golden jubilee and many achievements of this nation," Rakolta said.

The ambassador who recently returned from Washington after witnessing the signing of historic Abraham Accords between Israel, the UAE and Bahrain, also said the Israeli participation in Expo 2020 Dubai will show "the inclusiveness of not only the Emirates but of the entire region as well, and how we are moving to a much more inclusive society here".

It will bring all kinds of additional benefits, "the biggest ones, of course, in trade and investments, tourism, job opportunities, and peace," the envoy added.

The US pavilion theme is life, liberty and the pursuit of the future and will showcase a cultural programme, for which recruitment of artists and performers from across the United States has already been started.

They will represent their territories and regions as America’s Cultural Ambassadors at the Expo, Rakolta said, adding that the cultural programmes will display "the geographic and cultural richness of the United States and its territories".

Rakolta officially inaugurated construction of the American pavilion at Expo 2020 Dubai in March when he was joined at the event by State Department counsellor T Ulrich Brechbühl.

The start of construction work at the US pavilion followed months of uncertainty surrounding America’s participation in the event due to a lack of funding and a failure to receive emergency support from the government.

By law, the State Department is not allows to provide funds for such international gatherings.