The MEED Destination Dubai 2020 conference to be held in the JW Marriott Marquis hotel in Dubai on 28-29 January will be the first opportunity for business in the UAE, the GCC and the world refine their long-term strategies to support and capitalise on Dubai’s historic World Expo 2020 win.

“The world’s eyes are now on Dubai and MEED is ready to respond with information, analysis and insights about how business can engage effectively with the project and service boom that will sweep the emirate and the UAE in the years to 2020,” says MEED Events Chairman Edmund O’Sullivan.

“We are delighted with Dubai’s Expo 2020 win, the result of a brilliant campaign to win over the world exhibition community to Dubai’s long-term vision,” O’Sullivan says. “But the hard work for business actually starts today. The MEED Destination Dubai 2020 conference, developed in anticipation of Dubai’s Expo 2020 bid winning, engages all the key stakeholders that will be involved with delivering the event in seven years’ time.”

Confirmed keynote speakers include:

• HE Hussain Naser Lootah, director-general of Dubai Municipality
• Saeed Mohammed Al Tayer, Managing Director & CEO of the Dubai Electricity & Water Authority
• Arif Amiri, chief commercial officer of Emaar Properties, Dubai’s premier real estate developer
• Jeffrey Singer, chief executive officer of the DIFC Authority
• Fahad al-Gergawi, chief executive officer of FDI Dubai
• Gerald Lawless, president and group chief executive officer of the Jumeirah Group.

Destination Dubai 2020 will provide a comprehensive overview of Dubai’s long-term plans encompassing real estate, the hospitality sector, infrastructure including water, electricity and roads, transport including seaport and airport developments, aviation,  financial services and manufacturing.

“[It] will be the seminal conference about Dubai’s plans to 2020. It will of course provide details of the plans supporting the delivery of the World Expo. But it will also cover in detail the plans devised by business and government in the UAE to support the event,” says O’Sullivan.