The steering committee of the Expo 2020 Dubai urged all participants to join its vaccination drive to curb the spread of the Covid-19 virus.
Last month, Sheikh Hamdan bin Mohammed, Crown Prince of Dubai, announced free vaccinations for all expo participants and their staff.
"Health and safety is a pivotal part of the planning and operations for all world expos and the ongoing global pandemic has put this more sharply into focus,” said Manuel Salchli, chair of the Expo 2020 Steering Committee and Commissioner General for Switzerland at Expo 2020.
“It is very important that all official participants should benefit from the UAE’s generous offer to vaccinate their delegations and it is the collective responsibility of all the countries to support this initiative to ensure an enjoyable and safe expo for all participants."
Last Tuesday, delegates representing 173 countries and 24 international organisations participated in expo’s sixth international participants' meeting, which was held by Sheikh Mohammed bin Rashid, Vice President and Ruler of Dubai.
The meeting was the final one ahead of the opening of expo later this year.
"The world is recovering ... and we are ready to welcome 190 countries to the world's greatest event,” Sheikh Mohammed tweeted.
Organisers of the expo had said they were also positive about welcoming millions, as more people around the world get inoculated.
"We are hopeful that in the next five months we are going to see a better and stronger overall picture," Reem Al Hashimy, director general of Expo 2020 Dubai Bureau and UAE Minister of State for International Co-operation, said in an interview.
“With a strong vaccination rollout in different parts [of the world] we are actually beginning to see finally the strong impact of vaccination and reduced ... prevalence of disease in society.”
While vaccination will be mandatory for the expo workforce, it is being encouraged, but not enforced, for visitors and tourists.
Ms Al Hashimy said testing would be in place for visitors at various stages.
Strong focus on space during the Expo 2020 Dubai - in pictures
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A space show will be held at Al Wasl Plaza during 'Space Week'. It is the world's largest 360-degree projection screen. Several country pavilions will highlight their achievements in space during the world fair, set to begin on October 1 2021. Courtesy: Dubai Expo 2020 -
A 'space drill' that will dig through the Martian soil will be on display at the Italian pavilion. Manufactured by Italian aerospace firm Leonardo, the drill will be launched in 2022 on board the Rosalind Franklin rover. Courtesy: Leonardo -
The Galileo atomic clock is used in the European Global Navigation Satellite System. Courtesy: Leonardo -
The clock accumulates an error of one second every three million years. Courtesy: Leonardo -
Space will be one of the themes of the US pavilion at Expo 2020 Dubai. Courtesy: USA Pavilion at Expo 2020 -
Construction of the US pavilion at the World Fair in Dubai will be completed in November. Courtesy: USA Pavilion at Expo 2020 -
In 1970, the US displayed a 3.2 billion-year-old Moon rock brought back from the Apollo 12 mission at the Osaka Expo. Courtesy: Nasa -
Russia will also participate in the Space Week at Expo 2020 Dubai next year. The country has a long history in space exploration. Yuri Gagarin (pictured) was the first man to go to space. Courtesy: Roscosmos
