Prince William will visit the United Arab Emirates next month, visiting Expo 2020 to enjoy the UK national day on February 10th.

The visit is at the request of the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office, and will be part of his first official visit to the country.

The national day at Expo will see the UK showcase the extraordinary talent from across the country.

His royal highness will join these celebrations, which will also feature the Birmingham 2022 Queen’s Baton Relay, launched by her majesty from Buckingham Palace in October, as it parades through the Expo site to visit Commonwealth national pavilions.

During the visit, prince William will learn 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 iconic species.

Countries all over the world, including the UAE, are making a collective effort to tackle this US$150 billion 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 provides an opportunity to showcase the Earthshot Prize on the world stage at Expo 2020 Dubai.

Expo 2020, along with DP World, its global trade partner, is a global alliance founding partner of the Earthshot Prize – the huge global environment initiative founded by the Royal Foundation of the Duke and Duchess of Cambridge and established by prince William.

Highlighting some of the remarkable innovators from the inaugural 2021 Earthshot Prize will help accelerate and scale their incredible solutions to repair the planet.