Franz Fayot kick-starts "Space" mission in Dubai

A few days after an ICT (Information and Communications Technology) themed visit at the chamber of commerce, economy minister, Franz Fayot, started on Sunday, 24 October, a three-day economic mission to the Dubai World Expo centred around space.

Even before visiting the Luxembourg pavilion alongside its general commissioner, Maggy Nagel (DP), and Luxembourg's ambassador to the United Arab Emirates, Robert Lauer, Franz Fayot (LSAP) opened a workshop in the Swedish pavilion on women's skills in technologies part of the fourth industrial revolution, organised by the EU-GCC Dialogue and the European Centre for Women and Technology.

"I would like to pay tribute to the professionalism of the GIE Luxembourg Expo 2020 Dubai team, which managed to deal with the difficulties and unforeseen events following the Covid-19 pandemic and the postponement of the expo," the minister said at a press conference. “Luxembourg’s presence at Expo 2020 Dubai was the subject of a close collaboration with the private sector throughout the planning and realisation phase. The result is an emblematic pavilion that reflects our country's desire to move forward by focusing on sustainable growth, while respecting natural resources."

Ten years after the opening of the Luxembourg embassy in Abu Dhabi, this is a good opportunity to remind people that Luxembourg is a country that stands out. The government announced, as early as 27 May 2016, its participation in the world expo; Luxembourg was also the first to start construction work, at the end of August 2019; and, between the two dates, the former minister of the economy, Étienne Schneider (LSAP), signed a bilateral agreement on the exploration of space resources with his counterpart from the United Arab Emirates.

Maggy Nagel, General Commissioner of Luxembourg for Expo 2020 Dubai, and Franz Fayot, Minister of the Economy (Photo: SIP/Emmanuel Claude)

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Economy minister Franz Fayot (Photo: SIP/Emmanuel Claude)

Minister Fayot surrounded by officials and sponsors of the Luxembourg pavilion in Dubai (Photo: SIP / Emmanuel Claude)

Jean Ries, consultant at Guardian Europe; Michel Wurth, CEO of ArcelorMittal; Franz Fayot, Minister of the Economy; Claude Strasser, Managing Director at Post Luxembourg (Photo: SIP / Emmanuel Claude)

Designed by architectural studio Metaform, the pavilion, inspired by the Möbius strip, symbolises both the circular economy and openness. With a capacity of 500 visitors, the pavilion can be visited in 15 to 20 minutes. Its surface across its three floors is 3,650m². The ramp that leads from one floor to the next shows images that represent the Grand Duchy, its citizens and the economy.

The scenography of Jangled Nerves presents the country in five dimensions: diversity, connectivity, sustainability, entrepreneurship and beauty. At the top, visitors can come down a giant slide, reminiscent of the Schueberfouer attractions.

"As an expert in the field of digitalisation, Post Luxembourg is particularly proud to take part in the government's efforts to pave the way for a digitalised economy and to represent the grand duchy's know-how in this field," emphasised Post's managing director, Claude Strasser. "At the same time, the millions of visitors expected to visit the Luxembourg pavilion at Expo 2020 Dubai offer a unique opportunity for Post to help position Luxembourg on the international stage in the information and communication sector. Moreover, the theme of the exhibition, ‘Connecting Minds, Creating the Future’, fits perfectly with Post's vision and values, and in particular its strong desire to promote both innovation and sustainable development.”

A Monday in space

Monday will be devoted to space, and in particular to participation in the 72nd International Astronautical Congress, under the theme "Inspiring, innovating and discovering for the benefit of humanity". Luxembourg has its own pavilion, where nine of the 70 to 80 space companies and research centres based in the grand duchy are represented: LIST, Ispace Europe, Maana Electric, Spire Global, OffWorld Europe, GomSpace, Redwire Space Europe and SES.

SES, of course, was all smiles after successfully completing the first of its two major launches. On Saturday night, Arianespace successfully brought the SES-17 satellite into orbit.

"Luxembourg's participation in the World Expo comes at a pivotal moment when the world is accelerating the adoption of digital tools and artificial intelligence, and is developing cutting-edge networks and quantum technologies. In this respect, Luxembourg has much to offer to the world and can help accelerate this evolution," said SES CEO Steve Collar. “As a leading space company based in Luxembourg for more than 35 years, we are proud to be part of the national drive to support this global transformation and new era of innovation, and look forward to being a player in the next big developments to come."

Maana Electric, , announced that it would use the World Expo to open an office in the United Arab Emirates, with which it has nurtured a dialogue for years.

This story was first published in French on . It has been translated and edited for Delano.