France seeks Lankan support for World Expo bid
France is optimistic in garnering international support including Sri Lanka for its bid to host 2025 World Expo, 125 years after the 1900 World Expo in Paris, the inter-ministerial delegate for the French candidacy Pascal Lamy said in Colombo recently.
Mr. Lamy, a former Director General of the World Trade Organisation who visited the island last week, met Finance Minister Mangala Samaraweera, Dr. Harsha de Silva, Deputy Minister of Policy Planning and Economic Development and Tourism Minister John Amaratunga in a bid to secure Sri Lanka’s support.
The other competitors for the bid are Japan, Azerbaijan and Russia and Lamy’s visit to Sri Lanka coincided with Japanese Foreign Minister Taro Kono’s official tour of the island nation.
However Sri Lankan authorities are yet to announce their stance in relating to France's environmentally- sustainable proposal for Expo 2025. France will get a great opportunity to highlight the country’s traditions, openness and world class status, if it is selected to host the World Expo 2025, Mr. Lamy told a media conference in Colombo.
France has put forward an innovative economic model for the Expo 2025 Grand Paris France project involving multiple stakeholders including the French government headed by President Emmanuel Macron and entrepreneurs; he disclosed adding that the overall budget stands at Euro 3.5 billion.
This money would be raised by private businesses and revenue from the Expo; he revealed pointing out that the proposed budget less than the estimated cost to stage Expo 2020 in Dubai.
The work on the Expo has been coupled with an infrastructure renewal project of unprecedented scale in the Paris region.
The Global village which is to be built Expo 2025 will become a world campus and participating countries may convert their pavilions.
It will remain at Paris- Saclay to receive students or innovative businesses from their country in order to contribute to the area’s intellectual and entrepreneurial vibrancy.
100 youth aged 20 to 25 years have been selected from 70 countries including Sri Lanka as ambassadors for France’s World Expo 2025 bid.
They have all pledged to promote this ambitious goal for 2025 all over the world, supporting the initiatives of the diplomatic network mobilised in support of this bid.
Sri Lanka’s Ganga Harshani Mahawatta and Kavishka Thathsarani Dias have been selected as local ambassadors towards this end. Two of them noted that they were given an opportunity to become acquainted with the bid during their 5- day tour of Paris.
Ms. Mahawatta and Ms. Dias said that they were highly excited and impressed on their new assignment and pledged to promote France’s bid in Sri Lanka.
The Global village which is to be built Expo 2025 will become a world campus and participating countries may convert their pavilions.