The Deputy Secretary General of the Bureau International des Expositions (BIE), Dimitri Kerkentzes, is carrying out a working visit to Azerbaijan to discuss the bid project to organise World Expo 2025 in Baku.

The purpose of the visit is for authorities in Azerbaijan to build on their bid project and to prepare for the Enquiry Mission, a formal visit of a BIE delegation in early 2018. Representatives of the Expo 2025 Baku’s Bid Committee took this opportunity to present key aspects of the bid dossier, which was submitted to the BIE in September 2017.

In Baku, Mr. Kerkentzes discussed the Expo project with the First Vice President of Azerbaijan, Mehriban Aliyeva. He also held meetings with the Minister of Finance and Chairman of the Baku Expo 2025 Bid Committee, Samir Sharifov, the Minister of Youth and Sport, Azad Rahimovand, and the whole Expo 2025 Baku Task Force, led by Elchin Amirbayov, chief delegate of Azerbaijan to the BIE.

This preliminary visit comes ahead of the BIE Enquiry Mission, which will include the Secretary General of the BIE, Vicente G. Loscertales, and which will be led by the Chairman of the BIE’s Executive Committee, Jai-chul Choi. Members of the Enquiry Mission will assess the feasibility and viability of the Expo project, a necessary step for the candidature to go further in the selection process.

Azerbaijan is one of four countries seeking to host World Expo 2025, alongside France (Greater Paris), Japan (Osaka), Russia (Ekaterinburg). Member States of the BIE will elect the host country during the 164th General Assembly in November 2018.