His Highness Sheikh Mohammed Bin Rashid Al Maktoum, Vice President and Prime Minister of the UAE and Ruler of Dubai, paid a surprise visit to Cityscape Dubai 2007, the world’s largest B2B real estate event.
Sheikh Mohammed toured the 70,000 square metre exhibition area at Dubai International Exhibition Centre and met with some of the show’s 1,000 regional and international exhibitors on the second day of the event, as organisers announced record attendance of 30,000 visitors over the first two days, smashing last year’s figures.
Other VIP visitors to Cityscape Dubai 2007 included star architect Zaha Hadid, movie star Patrick Swayze and billionaire American realtor Thomas J Barrack Jr, whose vision of the future has been praised by Donald Trump as “amazing”.
Rohan Marwaha, Group Director of Cityscape for organisers IIR Middle East, said Cityscape Dubai would not enjoy the scale, quality of exhibitors and international fame it now has without the vision and support of Sheikh Mohammed.
Echoing comments made on the opening day by HE Mohammed Al Gergawi, Minister of State for Cabinet Affairs of the Federal Government of the United Arab Emirates and Executive Chairman of Dubai Holding, Marwaha said, “The progress of Cityscape Dubai underscores the growth of Middle Eastern companies as formidable players in the global real estate industry, and much of this is due to the vision and encouragement of Sheikh Mohammed.”
