ASTANA, December 13. /TASS/. Kazakhstan’s President Nursultan Nazarbayev said on Sunday it was a timely the decision to hold an international EXPO exhibition in Astana in 2017.
"I think this is a right and timely decision," he said in an interview with national televisin channels.
He said the major task for the international community was to reduce harmful emissions that were believed to be the key factor of the global climate change. "Emissions are caused by burning of coal and oil, exactly what we are living on," he said, adding that some $270 billion had been spent on green technologies. "That is why alternative energy sources, green technologies are not just a replacement for hydrocarbons. They imply technological progress, absolutely different technologies, equipment, specializations," he noted.
The EXPO-2017 exhibition, in his words, will make it possible for Kazakhstan to learn about the practices of the leaders of alternative energy generation and to present its own possibilities in terms of the development of green technologies. "We will try to demonstrate our experience, what we can do in our vast steppes, with their winds and sun," Nazarbayev said.
The press service of Astana EXPO-2017 said as of today 54 countries and 11 international organizations had confirmed their participation in the exhibition. Agreements had been signed with a number of international travel operators, it said.
According to the organizer’s estimates, the three-month exhibition would be visited by some 2.1 million people, of whom 85% would be Kazakhstan nationals.