In his address at the opening, President Karis stressed that despite their size both Estonia and the United Arab Emirates are exceptionally dynamic and innovative countries with serious ambitions in the field of start-up enterprise. “Just as the aim here in the UAE is to reach 20 unicorns or billion-dollar start-ups by 2031, so in Estonia our aim is for the start-up sector to be generating a third of GDP by the same time,” he explained, adding that Estonia is already home to eight unicorns.
Like the United Arab Emirates, Estonia has also contributed to education and new forms of learning technology. “Technological solutions in the field of education have helped us cope very effectively with the challenges posed by the pandemic, providing flexible hybrid learning options,” he said. “We have a lot of digital solutions along those lines we can share with the world. Here at Expo, Estonia has had the chance to showcase its smarts and its sustainability.”
The head of state explained that against the backdrop of Expo 2020, the United Arab Emirates is becoming a gateway for Estonia in communicating with the entire Gulf region, contributing to which has been the opening of the Estonian embassy in Abu Dhabi and the establishment of a representative office of Enterprise Estonia.
In his address, President Karis also spoke of the risks threatening the global economy, which are predominantly linked to interruptions to global value chains, which in turn affect everyone involved in the global economy, regardless of location. “In the turbulent times we are currently experiencing, it goes without saying that we must defend a world order based on international norms, stand up for human rights and recognise the core principles of international law like territorial integrity and the sovereignty of nations,” he said. “We are with Ukraine and its people in our thoughts. We are doing, and will continue to do, everything we can to end the war there, and we will work with all of our allies to rebuild the country.”
The Estonian head of state commended Dubai for managing to attract 192 countries to take part in Expo 2020 despite the difficulties caused by the pandemic.
President Karis also mentioned the scents and flavours of Estonia that visitors to the pavilion have enjoyed – the smoked salmon and gourmet burgers prepared on site have become some of Expo’s biggest hits.
The opening was attended by Sheikh Nahyan bin Mubarak Al Nahyan, the head of the United Arab Emirates Ministry of Culture, Youth and Social Development. Providing music at the event was the ensemble Estonian Voices. Expo 2020 has been visited by more than 20 million people.
