Dacic calls on foreign diplomats to support Belgrade's EXPO 2027 bid

BELGRADE - Serbian FM Ivica Dacic on Tuesday hosted a reception for foreign diplomats in Serbia to call on them to back Belgrade's bid to host EXPO 2027.

"The Bureau International des Expositions (BIE) will meet in June - vote for us because, without that, there will be no EXPO in Belgrade. I will call each of your FMs, but we are also asking you to be promoters so that Belgrade can have a good chance of becoming the host," Dacic said at the reception at the Ministry of Foreign Affairs.

Through its EXPO 2027 bid and the themes of sport and play, Serbia aims to promote the spirit of cooperation and fair and sportsmanlike competition and encourage both itself and others to view the world in a way that is perhaps different, Dacic said.

"We are deeply convinced Serbia is capable of offering a healthy environment and ideal conditions for hosting an event such as this one," Dacic said.

Serbia was the first country to start preparing its candidacy and a location for the event, Dacic said, adding that the government of Serbia and the entire country had demonstrated firm determination to make the project a success.

"Bearing in mind that the region of southeastern Europe has not hosted such an event in the past 30 years, our goal is that the expo also be dedicated to its promotion - economically, culturally and in every other sense," Dacic said.

The host of EXPO 2027 will be elected at the June 20-21 BIE General Assembly in Paris.