Yoon to give speech promoting Busan’s 2030 Expo bid at BIE meeting in Paris

Jun 19, 2023, 07:49 am

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President Yoon Suk-yeol and First Lady Kim Gun-hee arrive at Hiroshima Airport in Japan on May 19, 2023./ Source: Yonhap

AsiaToday reporter Lee Wook-jae

President Yoon Suk-yeol will give a speech promoting South Korea’s bid to host the 2030 World Expo during a general assembly of the Bureau International des Expositions (BIE) to be held in Paris on Tuesday.

While South Korea is closely chasing Saudi Arabia with “oil money,” President Yoon plans to conduct the presentation in English to strongly express South Korea’s commitment to hosting the World Expo in Busan.

Yoon and his wife Kim Gun-hee will leave for Paris on Monday to attend the BIE General Assembly, where he will give the 4th presentation to host the 2030 World Expo. Yoon will be a speaker at the presentation event between competitors on Tuesday, the first day of the general meeting, and will participate in the official reception of the 2030 Expo hosted by South Korea on Wednesday to promote the expo bid to delegates and diplomatic corps from all the world. Therefore, this week will be the major watershed in which the fate of the winner of the Expo bid will be determined.

Initially, the prevailing view was that Saudi Arabia would host the 2030 Expo, with “oil money” at the forefront”. However, the South Korean government and companies has been actively engaged in the Expo bid since Yoon took office, and it is not easy to predict the outcome.

While Chinese President Xi Jinping openly supported Saudi Arabia earlier, the government’s general analysis is that Western countries such as the U.S. and Japan are increasing their support for South Korea. However, given that Saudi Arabia is a major crude oil producer and considering complex international dynamics, many say you cannot jump to conclusion until the last minute.

Saudi Arabian Crown Prince Mohammed Bin Salman, who is in power in Saudi Arabia, is also actively engaged in hosting the expo. In fact, he left for Paris on June 14 and is scheduled to attend the BIE General Assembly. In addition, Saudi Arabia recently proposed to BIE to change the final voting method from private to public, but it was reportedly rejected. It is based on concerns have been raised that countries that have expressed support for Saudi Arabia may change their votes on the voting day, indicating that Saudi Arabia is concerned about hosting the expo.

The highlight of Yoon’s visit to France is expected to be when Crown Prince Bin Salman and he meet at the BIE General Assembly to compete in good faith.

“There is one more presentation at the BIE regular general meeting, where the final voting to host the expo will take place at the end of November, but this presentation is actually the biggest match because voting countries are likely to decide on their supporters,” an official from the presidential office said.

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