Opinions & Interviews

ASTANA, 14 August (BelTA) – Belarus’ National Pavilion at EXPO 2017 demonstrates the country's achievements in various fields, Belarus Prime Minister Andrei Kobyakov said at the official opening ceremony of Belarus’ National Day at EXPO 2017, BelTA has learned.

“EXPO exhibitions are unique events. The states demonstrate the achievements in various fields, tell about national culture, traditions and history. In turn, visitors have an excellent opportunity to make a trip around the world during one day, see how diverse the world civilization is, how beautiful our planet is. The concept of Belarus’ National Pavilion is built on these ideas,” Andrei Kobyakov said.

The prime minister noted that the visitors of the Belarusian pavilion can get familiar with the Chinese-Belarusian industrial park Great Stone, which is the “gem”of the Silk Road Economic Belt. “We have displayed the whole range of the engineering industry, which is the locomotive of the Belarusian economy. Emphasis is made on the wider use of IT technology in presentations. National character and identity are reflected in linen, leather, ceramic and straw products, including handmade,” he said.

Andrei Kobyakov emphasized that EXPO exhibitions are designed to enhance friendship and mutual understanding between countries and peoples. Winning the right to host such an exhibition is very honorable and attests to the high trust that the world has in the state-organizer. “It is with great pleasure that I congratulate our Kazakhstan friends on winning this right and I am pleased to note that Kazakhstan is doing very well as the host,” he said.

The Belarusian head of government stressed that Kazakhstan is a time-honored friend and an important partner in the international arena for Belarus. “The Belarus-Kazakhstan business forum, which is taking place in Astana today, is another common effort to develop mutually beneficial economic ties between our countries. The growth of the Belarus-Kazakhstan trade made up almost 80% in January-June 2017 as compared with H1 2016,” Andrei Kobyakov said.

The theme of the Astana Expo 2017 is Future Energy. The expo covers one of the hottest topics the international community is concerned about — alternative sources of energy. The expo will stay open through 10 September.

A spherical building called Nur Alem is the key and main pavilion of the Astana Expo 2017. The concept of the pavilion is to present a museum of energy of the future. Its seven floors are demonstrating the main kinds of energy — the energy of space, solar energy, biomass, wind, water, and kinetic energy. The eighth floor is designed to demonstrate what Astana will look like in 2050.

Belarus is represented by a national pavilion where visitors can learn about the latest Belarusian R&D projects and promising investment projects in an interactive way. The modern pictorial art exhibition From Lisbon to Vladivostok via Minsk, Moscow, and Astana is part of Belarus’ national exposition. It features works by artists from 25 countries. The figure indicates how much attention Belarus pays to integration processes in the entire Eurasian space.