The UAE Ministry of Environment and Water attended the opening ceremony of the UAE Pavilion and Business Center at Expo Milano 2015 on May 1, 2015 in Milan, Italy as the official sponsor of its business center. Participating with the slogan of ‘Commercial and Future Business Developments,’ the Center features a collection of government and semi-government institutions that are showcasing the country’s most important achievements and projects in the environment, food, energy and technology. H.E. Eng. Mariam Saeed Hareb, Acting Assistant Undersecretary – Water Resources and Nature Conservation, Ministry of Environment and Water, represented the Ministry.

H.E. Eng. Hareb stated that the Ministry is participating as the official sponsor of the UAE Pavilion’s Business Center in support of the global food security and to highlight the efforts undertaken by the Ministry in this area. The Ministry recently launched the national ‘Halal mark’ that leads widely to open new markets for Halal products from all around the world. This is made possible by the UAE’s vision of achieving sustainable development in various fields locally and internationally.

 H.E. Eng. Hareb added that the UAE, especially Dubai, is considered as one of the largest re-export hubs in the Arab World because of its strategic geographic location on the crossroads of international trade and commerce. She explained that the Ministry is working on improving the quality control measures for Halal Products by implementing the strategic plan of developing the ‘Islamic Economy Sector.’ Launched by H.H. Sheikh Mohammed bin Rashid Al Maktoum, UAE Vice President and Prime Minister and Ruler of Dubai, the Islamic Economy Sector is an initiative that focuses on seven main directions to make Dubai the global reference and hub for Islamic financing, the main center for halal food industries, and the trusted name for the accreditation of such products.

 The Ministry of Environment and Water will be participating in a series of meetings and brainstorming sessions that will be held in the UAE Pavilion’s Business Center. Through its presence, the Ministry will shed light on a number of topics, including the movement of goods in the UAE and especially through the city of Dubai, energy projects, food security, and ‘smart’ transformation. In addition, it will also discuss many environmental initiatives that the UAE has committed to implement in order to achieve its vision and make it one of the best countries by 2021.