World

Expo 2020 Dubai visitors praise Saudi Arabia’s pavilion on UAE National Day

Saudi Arabia’s pavilion at Expo 2020 Dubai received an unprecedented number of visitors on Thursday as tens of thousands of residents and tourists flocked to the record-breaking site on the UAE’s 50th National Day.

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Pavilion organizers told Al Arabiya English that by 1 pm some 60,000 people had come to see the 13,059-square-meter structure, with crowds patiently thronging the queue lines throughout the day.

Second in size only to the UAE pavilion, the Kingdom’s pavilion has been one of the most popular at Expo since it opened on October 1.

Maha al-Fagir, one of the Saudi Arabia pavilion staff, said it had been “very, busy”, with the pavilion-which holds LEED Platinum certification, and is the second largest at Expo 2020 Dubai, proving popular among visitors.

“Everyone has been very happy,” she said. “They are very excited to be here on UAE National Day. Everyone is walking in saying ‘Happy UAE National Day!’. It has been an absolutely great atmosphere. A really good vibe.”

The visitors to the pavilion were greeted with a striking structure that soars five storeys high and is spread over an area roughly twice the size of two football fields.

Created to resemble a giant window, visitors are welcomed by a waterfall feature before taking on a journey of the past, present and future.

Among those visiting on Thursday was 12-year-old Dubai student Minha Fathima.

The Indian national told Al Arabiya English: “I am very happy to be here. I wanted to visit this pavilion as I think Saudi Arabia is a very, very impressive country. So this was the pavilion I wanted to see.”

Another visitor impressed by the pavilion was Saudi national Narges Qasem. She had traveled specially from Saudi Arabia to see the Expo site on the UAE’s National Day.

“It is very good, I really enjoyed it – although it was very busy!”

At the Saudi Pavilion visitors can encounter a 68 square-meter, curved LED screen greets visitors as they embark on a technology-enabled journey through five ecosystems, hinting at the Kingdom’s natural spaces, beautiful coasts, vast deserts, surrounding seas, and high mountains.

The journey enables visitors to walk through the flora of al-Bardani Valley in Asir Region to the mighty mountains of Tabuk, and from the dunes of the Empty Quarter in southeastern Saudi to the crystal-clear waters of the Red Sea.

Navid Khan, a Dubai resident, said he was very impressed by the pavilion’s digital technology.

“It was really immersive,” he said. “It really took you back in time and the visuals were really impressive. This is my favorite pavilion at Expo.”

Visitors to the Saudi Pavilion can experience 14 cultural landmarks along an escalator ride. These include acclaimed UNESCO World Heritage Sites such as At-Turaif District in Ad-Diriyah, Hegra Archaeological Site in AlUla, Historic Jeddah, Rock Art in the Hail Region, and al-Ahsa Oasis.

Through an audiovisual guide, guests can explore 23 other destinations, including world-leading giga-projects which are rewriting the possibilities of sustainable development such as Qiddiya, Diriyah Gate, and King Salman Park.

Following this, visitors enter ‘Vision,’ a one-of-a-kind art exhibition curated by celebrated Saudi artists. Highlights include a 30-meter floating virtual sphere and a bespoke interactive floor.

Finally, the pavilion takes visitors through the ‘Discovery Center’, where an innovative platform will connect leaders from around the world to forge exciting partnerships and discuss investment opportunities, visualized through an interactive digital map of Saudi Arabia.

The Saudi Pavilion has been awarded the LEED Platinum certification by the US Green Building Council (USGBC), the highest internationally recognized sustainability rating in Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design.

In addition, the pavilion holds three Guinness World Records: the largest interactive lighting floor with around 8,000 LED lights, the longest interactive water feature at more than 32 meters, and the largest LED interactive digital mirror screen at 1302.5 square meters.

Saudi Arabia’s Riyadh Season attracts 4.5 million visitors in one month

Emiratis, expats, entrepreneurs herald the UAE on its 50th National Day

World

Pro-Iranian forces in Syria warn they can respond to further US strikes

Pro-Iranian forces in Syria said in an online statement late Friday that they have a “long arm” to respond to further US strikes on their positions, after tit-for-tat strikes in Syria over the last 24 hours.

The statement, signed by the Iranian Advisory Committee in Syria, said US strikes had left several fighters dead and wounded, without specifying their nationality.

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“We have the capability to respond if our centers and forces in Syria are targeted,” the statement said.

Biden vows ‘forceful’ response to Iranian attacks on US troops in Middle East

World

US warns China’s promises often empty as Honduras wavers on Taiwan

China often makes promises in exchange for recognition that remain unfulfilled, the de facto US embassy in Taipei said on Saturday as Honduras moves ahead with ending its long-standing ties with Taiwan in favor of China.

The Honduran foreign minister travelled to China this week to open relations after President Xiomara Castro said her government would move to forge ties with Beijing, Honduras being one of only 14 countries to formally recognize Taiwan.

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At stake is China’s growing footprint in Central America, once a steadfast base for Taiwan and where the United States is worried about Beijing’s expanding influence in its backyard.

China views Taiwan as one of its provinces with no right to state-to-state ties, a view the democratically elected government in Taipei strongly disputes.

The American Institute in Taiwan said that while Honduras’ possible severing of ties with Taipei in favor of Beijing was a sovereign decision, China does not always follow through on its promises.

“It is important to note the PRC often makes promises in exchange for diplomatic recognition that ultimately remain unfulfilled,” a spokesperson said, referring to the People’s Republic of China.

“Regardless of Honduras’ decision, the United States will continue to deepen and expand our engagement with Taiwan in line with our longstanding one China policy,” the spokesperson added.

Taiwan is a reliable, likeminded, and democratic partner, and its partnerships globally provide “significant and sustainable benefits to the citizens of those countries”.

“We strongly encourage all countries to expand engagement with
Taiwan and to continue to stand on the side of democracy, good governance, transparency, and adherence to the rule of law.”

China’s Foreign Ministry did not immediately respond to a request for comment, but it has previously said its relations with Taiwan’s former diplomatic allies have brought them real benefits.

The Honduras drama is happening ahead of a high-profile visit by Taiwan President Tsai Ing-wen to the United States and Central America next week. Tsai is expected to meet US House Speaker Kevin McCarthy in Los Angeles at the end of the trip.

The United States also has no official ties with Taiwan but is the island’s most important international backer and arms supplier.

Neither China nor Honduras has announced they have established diplomatic relations.

Diplomatic sources in Taipei say this is a departure from previous practice whereby an announcement on severing ties with Taiwan in favour of China normally happens very fast, with Taipei getting only maybe a few hours notice beforehand.

Honduras demanded $2.5 bln in Taiwan aid before China announcement: Source

World

Biden says China ‘hasn’t yet’ delivered arms to Russia

US President Joe Biden on Friday said he believed China has not sent arms to Russia after President Vladimir Putin’s forces invaded Ukraine.

“I’ve been hearing now for the past three months (that) China is going to provide significant weapons to Russia… They haven’t yet. Doesn’t mean they won’t, but they haven’t yet,” he told a news conference during a visit to Canada.

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“I don’t take China lightly. I don’t take Russia lightly,” he added, while also suggesting that reports of their rapprochement had probably been “exaggerated.”

Conversely, Biden stressed the strong ties among Western democracies, saying “if anything’s happened, the West has coalesced significantly more.”

He pointed to US security alliances in the Pacific region such as the Quad which also includes Australia, India and Japan and as well as AUKUS with Australia and Britain.

During a visit by Chinese President Xi Jinping to Moscow this week, Russia and Beijing for their part hailed “the special nature” of their relations.

But while China’s leader pledged a trade lifeline and some moral support, more conspicuous was that he did not commit to providing arms for Russia’s depleted forces in Ukraine, a move that would have invited Western sanctions on China.

There was also no long-term Chinese commitment to buy vast quantities of Russian gas that is no longer flowing to Europe.