EXPO 2017 may become 3rd largest in terms of number of participants
According to Ilya Urazakov, Director of the Department for work with international participants of JSC "NC "Astana EXPO 2017", to date 104 countries have officially confirmed their participation in the EXPO event in Astana. However, he noted that the application process is still on and the company expects that the number of participating countries may reach up to 110 countries.
"When the number hits 110, Kazakhstan will automatically end up among top three countries in terms of the number of participating countries. Presently, Portugal that attracted over 140 participating countries tops that ranking. Coming in second is China with 121 participating countries. Kazakhstan has all chances of claiming bronze in that ranking," Urazakov said.
In his words, 25 international conferences somehow related to the topic of the EXPO 2017 "The Future Energy" will be held on the sidelines of the exhibition in the Kazakh capital. The EXPO event itself will kick off at the time of the SCO Summit set to be held in Astana on June 9-10.
"During 93 days of EXPO every country will have an opportunity to host its national day. Right now we are scheduling the timetable of those days," Urazakov noted.
According to him, participating countries and international organizers should sign the milestone document - the so-called "Manifesto of Values and Principles. The Intellectual Heritage of the exhibition".
The International specialized exhibition EXPO 2017 will be held in Astana from June 10 through September 10, 2017. Over 2 million people are expected to attend the exhibition. The organizers of the event say that it will allow to attract the world's best energy saving technologies and innovations in alternative energy sources. President Nursultan Nazarbayev was the one who put forward the initiative to hold the exhibition in Kazakhstan.