Prince William visited Dubai, in the United Arab Emirates, on Thursday 10th February. The visit was at the request of the Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office and was His Royal Highness’ first official visit to the UAE.
His Royal Highness’ programme coincided with the 50th anniversary year of the UAE and will coincide with the UK National Day being held at Expo 2020 Dubai.
The National Day saw the UK take over the full site to showcase the extraordinary talent from across the UK. His Royal Highness also joined celebrations, which featured the Birmingham 2022 Queen’s Baton Relay, launched by Her Majesty from Buckingham Palace in October 2021.
The bond between the UK and the UAE is deep and strong and Prince William’s visit aimed to build upon these links as he had the opportunity to engage with young Emiratis, leaders from government and committed conservationists.
His Royal Highness attaches a particular importance to the natural world, a passion that was shared by the UAE’s founding father His Highness Sheikh Zayed bin Sultan Al Nahyan. During the visit, Prince William learnt more about initiatives that provide protected areas for the unique flora and fauna of the region and take the opportunity to highlight two Royal Foundation programmes: United for Wildlife and The Earthshot Prize.
United for Wildlife, established by Prince William in 2014, has been working in the region to help facilitate efforts to counter the trade in illegal wildlife which poses an existential threat to the world’s most iconic species. Countries all over the world, including the UAE, are making a collective effort to tackle this criminal enterprise and during his visit, His Royal Highness will learn more about public-private partnerships in the UAE helping to achieve this.
The visit also provided an opportunity to showcase The Earthshot Prize on the world stage at Expo 2020 Dubai. Highlighting some of the remarkable innovators from the inaugural 2021 Earthshot Prize will help accelerate and scale their incredible solutions to repair the planet.
