At least 192 countries will attend Dubai's Expo 2020 innovation fair, organisers said Thursday, with the Paris-based global body for the mega-events confirming Israel was among the invitees. "We have invited every country in the world without exception," organisers in Dubai announced, saying it would be "a truly international event".
Vicente G. Loscertales, head of the Paris-based Bureau International des Expositions (BIE), said that "by inviting all countries of the world to take part, including the State of Israel, the organisers of Expo 2020 are genuinely reflecting the universal spirit of World Expos." Israel's foreign ministry confirmed that the Jewish state had been invited.
Expo 2020, which runs from October 20 next year to April 20, 2021, is set to attract some 25 million visitors to the glitzy emirate, famed for its luxury resorts and opulent shopping malls. Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu praised the organisers' decision to invite the Jewish state. The mega-event is expected to give the United Arab Emirates an economic boost of over $33 billion, consultants Ernst and Young said in a study earlier this month.