Expo 2020 Dubai: World leaders stress on revitalising global partnerships in post-pandemic era

World leaders reiterated how pressing issues related to health, education, food security and climate change can efficiently be resolved with effective collaboration.

Congratulating winners of the 16th edition of the ABLF Awards (Asian Business Leadership Forum) held at Expo 2020, Sheikh Nahyan bin Mubarak Al Nahyan, UAE Cabinet Member and Minister of Tolerance and Coexistence, said: “We strongly believe that our success as a county and our success as a world community depends on our deep commitment to support ideas and developments that improve the lives of the people now, and the future.

“Expo 2020 Dubai has demonstrated that peaceful, tolerant, and stable societies have a significant advantage in creating an environment of free trade and investment can prosper, where knowledge is shared, and technological developments are utilised and where market confidence and economic competitiveness are encouraged. At Expo 2020, and as we mark the 50th year of our nation, we celebrate our great success of having a remarkable balance between the goal of creating a market-oriented competitive economy and our commitment to our beliefs, values, principles, and well-being of all people. Expo gives us the opportunity to create something better for future generations, to do our part in redesigning and reshaping the future and to transform the world for the good of everyone.”

The event that was held under the theme, Resilience Rising: The Great Reset, saw around 20 stalwarts from industry, technology, policy, social enterprise, and art being honoured with the diamond-studded ABLF Trophy in recognition of their success in steering their countries, communities and companies towards stability and growth amidst the turbulence caused by the pandemic.

Speaking at the function Ban Ki-moon, the 8th Secretary-General of the United Nations, said: “The most important lesson that we learnt from these years of fighting against coronavirus is that without global partnership, nothing can be done, however resourceful a country maybe.

“This kind of a global pandemic can be tackled only when we are united. In African countries, on average less than 10 per cent of people have been vaccinated, while in the US the European Union and developed economies, almost 100 per cent of the people are vaccinated. In Korea, more than 90 per cent of people vaccinated, revaccinated, and have also received the booster shot. If people in one area suffer, then we all suffer. This is a hard lesson which I have learnt even while (earlier) serving as the UN secretary general. The UN member states have adopted the sustainable development goals and climate change agreement, but we also must think why are we suffering from this pandemic? Our civil and moral responsibility is to take care of nature. I urge developed countries to provide necessary financial and the medical support to all the people. Nobody is safe until everybody is safe. This is a hard lesson. Coordination and global partnership are imperative.”

Underlining the need to combat food security challenges, Mariam Bint Mohammed Saeed Hareb Almheiri, UAE Minister of Climate Change and Environment said: “Everyone who lives here in the UAE has seen such a rise in local produce after Covid-19, and we have really harnessed the power of technology. We are also keeping in mind about water as well. Consumers play an important role in this. So do partnerships. One thing that we are proud of is the partnership that we have done with the US. These two countries understand that the only way we can transform our food systems is to harness the power of technology innovation, even though one country is a huge agricultural country and the other country is a food importing country.”