On December 29 local time, Italian Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni said that she would do her best to ensure that the capital Rome won the right to host the 2030 World Expo.
Meloni said at the traditional year-end press conference that day that "as an Italian and a Roman", she believes that hosting the World Expo is a "huge opportunity" for Rome, the "eternal city".
"I've talked to heads of government in 30 or 40 countries. I'm going to put myself into the bidding process." Meloni said that although she started the matter "a little later" than she expected, "but I will not let We're out."
Meloni's center-right alliance won the parliamentary election in September this year. Meloni took office in October and became Italy's first female prime minister.
The bid for the Rome World Expo was initiated by the previous government.
Roberto Gualtieri, the mayor of Rome from the opposition Democratic Party, affirmed Meloni's determination on social media later, saying that the latter did give strong support to the World Expo bid and had a positive attitude.
Rivals for Rome include Riyadh, the capital of Saudi Arabia.
The Saudi government regards hosting the World Expo as a part of promoting the diversification and transformation of the country's economy.
Saudi Arabia's neighbor Dubai, the United Arab Emirates, has been awarded the right to host the 2020 World Expo, which has been postponed by a year due to the new crown epidemic.
The 2025 World Expo will be held in Osaka, Japan.
South Korea's southern port city of Busan and Ukraine's Black Sea port city of Odessa have also applied to host Expo 2030.
In July this year, the city of Busan appointed the K-pop group BTS as its ambassador.
The Bureau International des Expositions plans to organize a delegation to visit the bidding countries from January to March next year, and hold a congress in November of the same year to vote on who will host the 2030 World Expo.
(Source: CCTV News Client)