EXPO 2020 DUBAI

The famous Burj Khalifa, the tallest building on the planet, lit up with Uganda's national flag Saturday night in tribute to the Uganda National Day during the East African nation's participation at the ongoing Expo 2020 in Dubai in the United Arab Emirates.

Uganda is among the over 190 countries taking part in this global edition, which was postponed last year due to the coronavirus pandemic.

Expo 2020, a large international exhibition designed to showcase achievements of nations, is running until the end of March next year. It was officially opened on September 30.

The main site of the massive exhibition is a 438-hectare area (1,083 acres) located between the cities of Dubai and Abu Dhabi, near Dubai's southern border with Abu Dhabi.

For the next half-a-year, Uganda, also known as the Pearl of Africa, will showcase its beauty, aimed at attracting tourists and investors into the country.

The Ugandan delegation in Dubai and Ugandans in general will have been pleased to see the national colours digitally displayed on the  829.8m-tall Burj Khalifa against Dubai's night sky. The display also came only days ahead of Uganda's 59th independence anniversary - October 9.

Known as the Burj Dubai prior to its inauguration in 2010, the Burj Khalifa has been the tallest structure and building in the world since its topping out in 2009.

In fact, the building has a dedicated Twitter page.

"The world is uniting in one place to celebrate sustainability and progress. #BurjKhalifa joins the celebrations that mark the beginning of #Expo2020 Dubai, announcing to the whole world that the future has arrived!" the page's handlers tweeted as the expo got under way.

Meanwhile, President Yoweri Museveni arrived in Abu Dhabi for a three-day working visit. 

"I join a Ugandan delegation that arrived here earlier for the World Trade Expo and has already done a tremendous job marketing the country," he tweeted alongside a video showing his arrival and reception by the hosts.