Fayot and other officials at the Expo 2020 Dubai meeting.

The tiny European nation of Luxembourg will gift its Expo 2020 Dubai pavilion to the UAE, thus illustrating its commitment to the meaningful, lasting legacy of the next World Expo and reflecting the strong, growing relationship between the two countries.

Luxembourg officials announced this during the UAE visit of Franz Fayot, Luxembourg’s Minister of Economy and Minister for Development Cooperation and Humanitarian Affairs.

The three-storey Luxembourg Pavilion will serve as a laboratory for rethinking ever-pressing questions around natural resources, featuring a green atrium that repurposes water from its air-conditioning system to water the plants and vegetation throughout the pavilion.

Visitors will be able to descend from the top floor to the bottom via a giant slide, a nod to the country’s annual fair.

Under the theme ‘Resourceful Luxembourg’, the pavilion is based on the idea of the Möbius ribbon – an infinite form symbolising the openness and dynamism of the country, and reflecting its commitment to the circular economy.

“Expo 2020 will be a unique platform for Luxembourg to collaborate with top innovating countries worldwide, as well as create and strengthen existing partnerships in the region and beyond,” remarked Fayot. “We are pleased to be part of Expo’s legacy by contributing our pavilion as a permanent building at the site – one that will serve as a beacon of hope for all those who visit, during the six months of Expo and long into the future.”

Approximately 80 per cent of Expo’s built environment will live on in District 2020, a model global community for the future that will use state-of-the-art innovation, science and sustainability to create a cleaner, safer, healthier environment to live and work.