Opportunities, such as the international Expo 2017 exposition in Astana, are a good way of making Slovakia more visible, stated the Slovak Economy Minister Peter Žiga, who is leading the Slovak delegation at the opening of the international event in Kazakhstan. According to him, the Slovak pavilion should reflect the country's mentality, culture and innovation. The entire Slovak exhibition covers 354 square metres and is conceived as a single large work of art. The budget earmarked for the presentation is €2.66 million. A dominant feature in the Slovak presentation is the energy sector.
"The main theme of this Expo is the future of energy, and you can see that this was inspired by the Paris climate agreement and the global community's effort to combat climate change and to find new ways of expanding the use of sustainable resources and energy," said the European Commission's Vice-president for Energy Union Maroš Šefčovič, from Slovakia, who was also present at the opening of 2017 Expo. In addition to Šefčovič, who is presenting the EU's interests at the exposition, the two other Slovak diplomats giving speeches at the event earlier in the day were Slovak Energy Charter Secretariat Secretary General Urban Rusnák and Executive Secretary of the Economic Commission for Europe Oľga Algayerová.
As many as 115 countries from around the world and more than 20 international organisations are set to showcase their green energy ideas at the 2017 Expo in Astana. The event will run until September 10, with a Slovak day at Expo being held on July 18.
