People attend the opening ceremony of the Dubai Expo 2020 in Dubai, United Arab Emirates, September 30, 2021. REUTERS/Rula Rouhana

i24 News – Israel inaugurated its pavilion on Friday for the second day of Expo 2020 Dubai after Thursday night’s opening ceremony that was delayed a year due to the coronavirus pandemic.

The United Arab Emirates’ edition of the world fair is the first ever held in the Middle East and Israel has a chance to showcase the country to millions of visitors following last year’s normalization of relations with the host country as part of the Abraham Accords.

More than 190 countries are participating in the event that continues for six months.

The Foreign Ministry said in a statement that the invitation for Israel to participate in the event was given in 2018, before the signing of the Abraham Accords between Israel and the UAE and Bahrain, with the later additions of Morocco and Sudan.

A total of 17 different government ministries, along with the Jewish National Fund and Israel Electric Corporation, worked on putting together the pavilion, with the Foreign Ministry and the Prime Minister’s Office leading the steering committee.

The Foreign Ministry estimates that about 15 million visitors will come to the Israel pavilion over the course of the event.

“The pavilion is inspired by the desert dunes shared by Israel and the Gulf states. All of this reflects the idea that tomorrow’s power to connect us and that creating a better future for all of humanity is within reach if we connect minds and join forces,” the Foreign Ministry statement said.

The pavilion is expected to host a variety of economic, business and tech events. The pavilion will be celebrating the Jewish holiday of Chanukah on October 6.