Wednesday, December 20 2023 14:25

ArmInfo. Armenia will present its technological, tourism, educational and food potential at Expo 2025 Osaka, Kansai, Japan, which will be held from April 13 to October 13, 2025. Armenian Minister of Economy Vahan Kerobyan stated during a press conference on December 20.

In particular, the first section of the pavilion will open to visitors a model of modern education in our country, within which the TUMO Center for Creative Technologies, Armath Engineering Laboratories, COAF technologies and a number of other educational programs that will be of interest to the Japanese public will be presented.

The next section focuses on high technology, including the IT sector and high-tech industries.

The third direction that Armenia intends to present in the best possible way to the Japanese public is tourism. In this regard, the Minister noted that serious preparatory work will be carried out in this area in the context of content in order to fully unleash the country's tourism potential. And the final section will showcase food and wine.

According to preliminary estimates, 28 million visitors are expected to attend the event.

According to Kerobyan, Armenia will present a high-class pavilion at the exhibition, which was designed by the leading Japanese MASH CORPORATION in collaboration with the Armenian Storaket architectural studio. "In addition, we will try to equip our pavilion with numerous innovative, digital technologies, artificial intelligence solutions, robotics, blockchain technologies, crypto, NFT, etc.," he said. The minister noted that such a high-class pavilion reflects our country's attitude towards Japan and in a sense is a contribution to the development of Armenian-Japanese relations.

Kerobyan also noted that Armenia is primarily interested in modern educational technologies that are used in Japan. In this regard, he said that preliminary agreements on cooperation with thematic pavilions of Japan had already been reached.

In particular, by 2025, the Ministry of Economy intends to organize visits of business delegations to Japan, so that already during the EXPO, Armenian companies have established connections with Japanese partners and are able to realize the formed interest.

The minister noted that the Japanese market is very interesting for Armenia, since Japan's economy is the 3rd or 4th largest in the world with a GDP of $3.5-4 trillion. "Japan is interesting to us for export and import, technology exchange, as well as in a number of other areas, including in the context of establishing connections between people. And today the existing level of relations and mutual trade is very far from potential," he concluded.

Project manager for the construction of the Armenian pavilion at the exhibition, Kazuya Murota, noted that they know little about Armenia in Japan, while he is a big fan of our country. "I want there to be more people like me in Japan, and this is precisely the goal of the EXPO," he noted, declaring that he will spare no effort to ensure that the Armenian pavilion takes root in the hearts of the Japanese.

According to the RA Statistics Committee, foreign trade turnover between Armenia and Japan for 10 months increased 2.4-fold, amounting to $315.5 million. At the same time, there is an increase in exports - by 24.5% to $3.1 million, with an 2.5-fold increase in imports up to $312.4 million.

Japan's Registration Dossier concerning Expo 2025 Osaka, Kansai, Japan was approved by the General Assembly of the Bureau International des Expositions (BIE) in 2020, when the Covid-19 pandemic was raging worldwide, forcing humankind to face an unprecedented crisis.

As a result of this pandemic, the world is faced with new challenges, such as the fragmentation of interactions among nations and people, the need to reconstruct environments and various social systems, and changes in values and lifestyles. These circumstances require bringing together the wisdom of the world and lead the way to swift solutions.

Reflecting on the theme of Expo 2025 Osaka Kansai, Designing Future Society for Our Lives, and taking necessary action has become a mission for this age. The international community has devoted serious efforts to achieving the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) by 2030, and these efforts are consistent with the significance of holding the Expo.

The SDGs are essentially an intertwinement of various challenges centred around lives.  Any endeavour to achieve these intertwined goals should be made through collaboration, bringing together those who aim to create a brighter future with better lives and a sustainable natural and human world.

Expo 2025 Osaka Kansai will provide the world with an opportunity to come together in one place to explore the theme of "life." This Expo will facilitate interactions between people with diverse values from around the world, resulting in new human networks and creative endeavours. Expo 2025 Osaka Kansai will share hopes for a brighter future with the world by overcoming the current global crisis, protecting people's lives, and reflecting on life and lifestyles.