By Alexey Adashkin: The President of Belarus took part in the opening ceremony of the exhibition Astana Expo - 2017. More than 100 states presented their economic opportunities in the capital of Kazakhstan. Belarus uses this opportunity to promote its goods and to attract for investors.
Each Expo exhibition becomes a major event of international importance. It is comparable with international economic forums. It also attracts millions of tourists. For Kazakhstan, the exhibition was a matter of national prestige. It is the first time that such an event takes place in the territory of the CIS.
The expenses for the Expo amounted to approximately $3 billion. The exhibition occupies 174 hectares, and the infrastructure built for the Expo will be used after the exhibition, too. An international financial centre and a green energy complex will work there.
Nearly 20 world leaders, as well as the UN Secretary-General, arrived in Astana to open the Expo. Nursultan Nazarbayev personally welcomed each of the guests on the first floor of the Nur-Alem pavilion.
As the host, Nursultan Nazarbayev personally gave his guests a tour of the national pavilion of Kazakhstan. The world leaders were shown the entire complex of Expo, which has already become a new architectural symbol of Astana. The opening ceremony of the exhibition took place at several venues. On the way from one point to another the heads of states and governments were able to see national pavilions. At the same time, they could discuss the current issues. The exhibition has created a perfect atmosphere for the influential guests of Expo to discuss the future of the energy sector. For example, the President of Belarus talked with the leaders of Turkmenistan, Serbia, and Armenia.
The organizers of the Expo tried to surprise the world with a bright multimedia show. They used moving scenery, transparent LED screens, and robots. In addition, a ballet performance of 20 flying drones became the highlight of the ceremony, in which 300 artists participated.
The final chord of the show was truly spectacular. The honoured guests of the ceremony enjoyed a colorful salute, which was launched directly from the territory of the Expo.
The exhibition sold 1,200,000 tickets. Most of the visitors are residents of Kazakhstan.
1,200 journalists watched the opening ceremony. The organizers arranges free access to the global exhibition for all the reporters who flew to Kazakhstan to cover the summit of the Shanghai Cooperation Organization.
In total, over the coming three months, the Expo will be visited by about 5 million people. To help the guests, 4,500 volunteers work at the Expo. Volunteers were selected from across the country, and they had to pass a tough competition.
The technologies of tomorrow in the energy sector are the main theme of the exhibition in Astana. 115 countries of the world brought their know-how in this area to Kazakhstan. About 3,000 business events will be hosted here by September. Such exhibitions are designed to accelerate progress in the green economy.
This year, among the exhibits are virtual models of the universe, materials of the future, nuclear icebreakers, and smart houses that produce more energy than they expend, as well as building materials from algae that produce electricity. Belarus has brought an electric bus to Astana. The bus is not a prototype – it is a fully working equipment.
Nearly 50 scientific projects from our country are presented at the Expo. Visitors can download all the information about each of them to their mobile phones and tablets. Our national pavilion tried to make the exhibition as interactive as possible. The central part of the pavilion demonstrates the Great Stone industrial park. In addition, it is our country that has organized an international art exhibition at the Expo. Its main goal is to emphasize the role of Belarus in the Silk Road Economic Belt.












