King Carl XVI Gustaf travelled to Dubai to take a tour of the Swedish pavilion at the 2020 Expo, which got pushed to 2021 for health safety reasons.
His Majesty arrived in the United Arab Emirates on Wednesday, 15 December, accompanied by a delegation composed of the Minister of Foreign Trade and a trade delegation of Swedish entrepreneurs.
Upon his arrival at the World Expo, the King gave a speech in which he highlighted the importance of innovation and of togetherness to achieve success in advancing a society.
“Simply put, we are smarter together than apart. And through innovation, we are able to find common solutions to common challenges,” His Majesty said during his remarks.
Following the speech, there was a performance by Swedish artists Cirkus Cirkör and Molly Sandén, with the latter being a name familiar to some royal watchers as the singer who, together with her partner Danny Saucedo, sang at Prince Carl Philip and Princess Sofia’s wedding reception the piece that the new Princess wrote for her husband.
King Carl XVI Gustaf then received a tour of the Swedish pavilion, which is based on the work of 143 businesses and has “co-creation for innovation” as a general theme.
Also called “The Forest,” the Swedish area is built entirely of wood and is focused on Swedish innovation and sustainable solutions to societal challenges.
The tour of the facility was given, on the Emirati side, by Sheikh Nahyan al Mubarak al Nahyan, who accompanied King Carl XVI Gustaf throughout the entire day.
The monarch also took part in the Smart Society Summit, a seminar that “draws attention to Swedish smart solutions and shows how an open and innovative society not only meets the needs of the inhabitants but also contributes to a broader sustainability goal,” according to the Royal House’s website.
Expo was created in London in 1851, and, since then, every five years, a city around the world hosts the global exhibition that allows participating countries to showcase their excellences in specific sectors. The last Expo before Dubai was Milan 2015; Dubai was supposed to take place in 2020 but got postponed because of health safety concerns. The next Expo will be in 2025 in Osaka, Japan.
