Milan Expo 2015 to help Italy overcome crisis: Italian president

MILAN, Italy, July 7 (Xinhua) -- The Milan Expo 2015 will be an "extraordinary opportunity" to overcome the economic crisis that is putting a strain on the Italian economy, President Giorgio Napolitano said on Sunday.

"Italy does not intend to give up" and the world exposition will help rebuild the "confidence" which is necessary to tackle the longest recession in more than 20 years, Napolitano said.

The Italian president made the remarks during a conference held at Expo's new institutional headquarters, Villa Reale of Monza, a historical building near Milan, in the presence of the European Commission's Vice-President Antonio Tajani and other authorities.

The meeting launched Milan Expo's promotional campaign "World Expo Tour," which will travel around the main capitals of participating countries.

Echoing Napolitano's words, Prime Minister Enrico Letta stressed the importance of the World Exposition as a powerful tool to foster growth.

"Expo will be the fulcrum of recovery and it will be successful if it symbolizes national unity," he said guaranteeing the "total commitment" of his new coalition government in recovering any lost time in the preparation works.

Letta added that the Italian presidency of the European Union (EU) in the second semester of 2014 will be dedicated to the Milan Expo, and that next year Milan will also host the Asia-Europe Meeting (ASEM).

"663 days before Expo's kick off on May 1, 2015, a total of 131 countries, more than the expected 130, have confirmed their presence in the six-month-long event," the Expo Sole Commissioner Giuseppe Sala said.

The Milan Expo 2015, where a total of 20 million visitors are expected, is centered on the theme "Feeding the Planet, Energy for Life," focused on fighting hunger and environmental issues.

According to a recent study, the world exposition will produce in Italy, from 2012 to 2020, nearly 25 billion euros (around 32 billion U.S. dollars) of economic impact including investment of participating countries, increased sales and incoming tourism.

The Milan Expo will also act as a flywheel for international relations. In particular, it will be a platform for strengthening relations with China, a very significant country for the event, whose pavilion will stretch 4,590 square meters and will be in a strategic position of the site.

One of the main objectives of the Milan Expo's "China Special Project" aimed at strengthening bilateral dialogue is to attract 1 million Chinese visitors.

http://news.xinhuanet.com/english/world/2013-07/08/c_132520145.htm