Saudi Arabia to Host World Expo in 2030, Crown Prince Hails Win as Culmination of Saudi Vision Goals

Saudi Arabia secured a decisive victory in the bid to host the Expo 2030 World Fair, as announced by the Bureau International des Expositions (BIE) in Paris on Tuesday.
The confirmation came after Riyadh overwhelmingly garnered 119 votes in the initial round, marking a landslide triumph.
Following this announcement, Saudi Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman declared that the Kingdom is set to deliver an “unprecedented edition in the history of hosting Expos,” emphasizing that “Riyadh's win in hosting Expo solidifies its leading role.”
Riyadh outperformed the Italian capital, Rome, and the South Korean city of Busan by a wide margin during the initial round of voting.
BIE announced that the kingdom would be hosting the exhibition after a secret ballot was cast during the 173rd General Assembly of BIE in Paris.
Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman extended his congratulations to the Custodian of the Two Holy Mosques, King Salman bin Abdulaziz Al Saud to mark the landmark occasion.
“The kingdom’s selection as the host of the World Expo 2030 underlines its influential and leading role and the international confidence it enjoys. Saudi Arabia has become an ideal destination for hosting major international events, including the esteemed World Expo,” said the Crown Prince.
“The World Expo 2030 coincides with a crucial year for the realization of the goals and plans outlined in Saudi Vision 2030.”
“This Expo represents a remarkable opportunity to share with the world the lessons learned from our unprecedented journey of transformation,” he added.
The Crown Prince stressed Riyadh’s readiness to welcome the world at Expo 2030, and the fact that it will fulfill the obligations stipulated in the bid with the aim of achieving the main theme of the expo, “The Era of Change: Together for a Foresighted Tomorrow”, and its subtopics: “A Different Tomorrow”, “Climate Action”, and “Prosperity for All.”
The Kingdom's bid to host the Expo received strong and direct support from the Crown Prince, starting with the Kingdom’s official application to the BIE on October 29, 2021.
The Long Parisian Day: Unraveling the Details
Saudi Foreign Minister Prince Faisal bin Farhan’s confidence in Riyadh’s bid to host Expo 2030 was not misplaced. In his presentation of Riyadh’s file before the BIE, Prince Faisal asserted that the Kingdom would emerge victorious in the competition against Italy and South Korea.
The top diplomat had affirmed that 130 countries expressed confidence in Riyadh’s proposal, and its capability to host the exposition.
According to BIE’s secretary-general, it is rare for a candidate country to secure victory from the first round, a feat achieved by Saudi Arabia with two-thirds of the votes from the outset.
During Tuesday’s session, the Saudi delegation was the last to address the General Assembly, following the diverse presentation from the South Korean and Italian delegations.
The Saudi Presentation
The Saudi delegation, led by Prince Faisal, delivered a cohesive presentation under the theme “From the World, To the World.”
They emphasized Saudi Arabia’s commitment to establishing the largest network of cooperation with nations worldwide.
Notably, Riyadh expressed its intent to allocate $384 million to assist 100 nations in need, enabling their participation in “Expo Riyadh 2030” under the banner of “One World, One Pavilion.”
Prince Faisal underscored the Kingdom’s focus on developmental goals, accelerating progress on all fronts, and addressing global challenges, including climate change, sustainable development, and international cooperation.
Speaking as he led the Saudi delegation at the general assembly on Tuesday, Prince Faisal stated, "The Kingdom is committed to collaborating with all stakeholders to deliver a distinctive edition of Expo 2030."
Princess Haifa Al-Mogrin, Saudi Arabia's representative to UNESCO, stated that the Kingdom will collaborate with all nations every step of the way until 2030.
She highlighted the focus on providing opportunities for education, health, environment, and prosperity for all.
Expo Hosting Journey
Among the five cities that initially submitted bids to host Expo 2030, two dropped out of the race early: Moscow and the Ukrainian city of Odessa, overlooking the Black Sea.
Moscow withdrew its bid due to the Russian invasion of Ukraine, and Odessa was not considered by the BIE as it did not meet the necessary conditions for organizing such a significant event.
This left Riyadh, Rome, and Busan as the remaining contenders, each presenting ambitious plans to host the prestigious expo, considered the global event in the exhibition field.
After a series of successive stages in the bidding process, the decisive moment arrived on Nov.28 with the electronic voting by the 180 member countries.
The BIE provided the final opportunity for the three competing parties to present their arguments and focus on key points they deemed “winning.”
The BIE director emphasized the need for strict adherence to the allocated time, not exceeding 20 minutes per presentation.
After Riyadh’s bid won the right to host the Expo 2030 world fair, Prince Faisal affirmed that Saudi Arabia’s victory “signifies the Kingdom's status and the international community's confidence in it.”
Prince Faisal emphasized that Saudi Arabia would present a “new type” of Expo in 2030, changing the dynamics of international exhibitions.
He expressed pride in the Kingdom’s exceptional success and thanked the nations that voted in Riyadh’s favor, acknowledging the presentations by South Korea and Italy.
Once again, he underscored that the expo is “not just for Saudi Arabia but for the entire world,” with Riyadh planning to involve all nations in its conception, planning, and execution.

US President Donald Trump on Thursday said Mexico won't be required to pay tariffs on any goods that fall under the United States-Mexico-Canada Agreement on trade until April 2, but made no mention of a reprieve for Canada despite his Commerce secretary saying a comparable exemption was likely.

"After speaking with President Claudia Sheinbaum of Mexico, I have agreed that Mexico will not be required to pay Tariffs on anything that falls under the USMCA Agreement," Trump wrote on Truth Social. "This Agreement is until April 2nd."

Earlier on Thursday, US Commerce Secretary Howard Lutnick said the one-month reprieve on hefty tariffs on goods imported from Mexico and Canada that has been granted to automotive products is likely to be extended to all products that comply with the US-Mexico-Canada Agreement on trade.

Lutnick told CNBC he expected Trump to announce that extension on Thursday, a day after exempting automotive goods from the 25% tariffs he slapped on imports from Canada and Mexico earlier in the week.

Trump "is going to decide this today," Lutnick said, adding "it's likely that it will cover all USMCA-compliant goods and services."

"So if you think about it this way, if you lived under Donald Trump's US-Mexico-Canada agreement, you will get a reprieve from these tariffs now. If you chose to go outside of that, you did so at your own risk, and today is when that reckoning comes," he said.

Nonetheless, Trump's social media post made no mention of a reprieve for Canada, the other party to the USMCA deal that Trump negotiated during his first term as president.

Lutnick said his "off the cuff" estimate was that more than 50% of the goods imported from the two US neighbors - also its largest two trading partners - were compliant with the USMCA deal that Trump negotiated during his first term as president.

Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau called Lutnick's comments "promising" in remarks to reporters in Canada.

"That aligns with some of the conversations that we have been having with administration officials, but I'm going to wait for an official agreement to talk about Canadian response and look at the details of it," Trudeau said. "But it is a promising sign. But I will highlight that it means that the tariffs remain in place, and therefore our response will remain in place."

Lutnick emphasized that the reprieve would only last until April 2, when he said the administration plans to move ahead with reciprocal tariffs under which the US will impose levies that match those imposed by trading partners.

In the meantime, he said, the current hiatus is about getting fentanyl deaths down, which is the initial justification Trump used for the tariffs on Mexico and Canada and levies on Chinese goods that have now risen to 20%.

"On April 2, we're going to move with the reciprocal tariffs, and hopefully Mexico and Canada will have done a good enough job on fentanyl that this part of the conversation will be off the table, and we'll move just to the reciprocal tariff conversation," Lutnick said. "But if they haven't, this will stay on."

Indeed, Trudeau is expecting the US and Canada to remain in a trade war.

"I can confirm that we will continue to be in a trade war that was launched by the United States for the foreseeable future," he told reporters in Ottawa.

Saudi Arabia to Host World Expo in 2030, Crown Prince Hails Win as Culmination of Saudi Vision Goals