Matthew Asada is a career diplomat and a World’s Fair enthusiast, policymaker, and practitioner. The author has visited six World’s Fairs, including the last five World Expos, and led the five-year effort to realize a USA Pavilion at Expo 2020 Dubai, first as the project manager at the U.S. Department of State in Washington, DC, and later as the Deputy Commissioner General of the USA Pavilion in Dubai, UAE. He served as the Deputy Commissioner General during the Trump and Biden Administrations. Before serving as project manager for the Dubai pavilion, he led the diplomatic campaign for the United States’ bid to host the 2023 World’s Fair. The author’s prior assignments in South Asia (Afghanistan, India, and Pakistan) helped the author better understand the historic and contemporary linkages between South Asia and the Gulf.
