PM calls for all-out efforts for Busan expo campaign

SEOUL, March 10 (Yonhap) -- Prime Minister Han Duck-soo called on the government and the private sector Friday to make all-out efforts to win the bid to host the 2030 World Expo in the southeastern port city of Busan, with the announcement on the final winner several months away.

Han made the remark at a meeting of the expo bid committee gathered to discuss preparations so far and how to carry out the campaign plans in the coming months.

"The competition is going to get fiercer among the bidding countries, with about nine months left until the host country is decided," Han, a co-chair of the bid committee, said at the start of the meeting.

"I ask everyone to step up negotiations customized to the demands of each country and make the most of available resources, such as multilateral meetings and the dispatch of special envoys," Han said.

Chey Tae-won, chief of the Korea Chamber of Commerce and Industry who co-chairs the committee, pledged full support from the private sector, stressing the importance of "one-team" efforts.

"The government and private sector should work as a team and make a winning move, with the mindset that the game will effectively be over by the end of the first half," Chey said.

The industry ministry said it will focus on the preparations for an on-site evaluation by an inspection team of the Bureau International des Expositions (BIE) scheduled for early April.

The BIE inspection team is set to visit South Korea to conduct an evaluation on the country's expo preparations. The evaluation report will be released to all 171 BIE member states.

South Korea is competing with Italy, Ukraine and Saudi Arabia for the hosting of the international exhibition. The BIE will announce the winner in November.

elly@yna.co.kr
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