ISRAEL'S MINISTER of State for Entrepreneurship and Small and Medium Enterprises Dr. Ahmad Belhoul led the inauguration ceremony of their first-ever pavilion at Expo 2020 Dubai, attended by 300 invited Israeli and United Arab Emirates (UAE) guests.

Also gracing the event was Israel's Minister of Tourism Yoel Razvozov along with Ministry of Tourism Director-General Amir Halevi, Ministry of Foreign Affairs Deputy Director General for Media and Public Affairs Noam Katz, the Commissioner-General of Israel's Expo 2020 Pavilion Elazar Cohen, Rabbi Eli Abadi and the Israeli Consul in Dubai Ilan Sztulman. Rabbi Duchman affixed the mezuza during the opening ceremony.This is the first time that the State of Israel has a national pavilion in an event of such magnitude in an Arab country. The invitation for Israel to participate in the event was already extended in 2018, even before the decision was taken to establish official relations. It is estimated that around 15 million people will visit the Israeli pavilion during the course of the event.