Skopje, 26 July 2023 (MIA) – We are hoping to receive the votes of our friendly allied countries, your vote, for Rome’s bid to host Expo 2030, because we have a centuries-long friendship, and because we belong to the same geographic space. Such an international exhibition is an opportunity for a joint promotion of the countries, and with it, a special opportunity for North Macedonia to stand out as well, to show its values, economic potential and tourism opportunities, said Stefano Stefanini, Italy’s special envoy for Rome’s Expo 2030 bid on Wednesday.

As part of his visit to North Macedonia, Stefanini will hold meetings with relevant representatives of the establishment in order to secure support for the Italian capital’s bid to host the 2030 world fair.

The Italian diplomat voiced satisfaction that he is witnessing North Macedonia moving down its path to EU membership, just as it had done with the path to full-fledged NATO membership. He noted that as of May 2023, North Macedonia is also a part of BIE - Bureau International des Expositions, an intergovernmental organization charged with supervising and regulating World Expos since 1931.

“This gives the country an opportunity to vote for the host of Expo 2030 this fall, with Rome being one of the candidates,” said Stefanini.

The other candidates to host the Expo apart from Rome, are Saudi Arabia’s Riyadh and South Korea’s Busan.

Stefanini said that Italy and Milano hosted Expo 2015, and Rome’s bid comes since no other European countries showed interest in hosting the global expo.

“After Expo 2020 in Dubai, and the upcoming one in 2025 which will be hosted by Osaka, Japan, it is time, after the near and the far-east, to return to the old continent. We all remember the great success achieved by Milano, we simply asked why not run again. That’s why I am here, to remind our European allies that we mustn’t allow Expo to only be held in other parts of the world, but that it is necessary here as well, on the old continent, in Europe, because I think that we can still be worthy challenges to the rest of the world,” said Stefanini.

Expo is a global fair visited by more than a million of visitors. The theme of the Rome Expo is “People and territories. Regeneration, Inclusion and Innovation”.

In November 2023, at the 173rd General Assembly of the BIE, the member-states will elect the host country of World Expo 2030 by secret ballot, with each country getting one vote.