Solomon Islands attends BIE 173rd General Assembly in Paris

Solomon Islands attended the Bureau International des Exposition (BIE) 173rd General Assembly in Paris, France on 28th November 2023. The Solomon Islands Delegation consist of the Secretary to the Prime Minister Dr Jimmie Rodgers as Head of Delegation, Ambassador of Solomon Islands to Belgium HE Moses Kouni Mose and Second Secretary at the Solomon Islands Embassy in Brussels, Mrs Clera Waokea Rotu.

The BIE is an intergovernmental organization created in 1928 to supervise international exhibitions (other terms used are expos, global expos, or world expos). The 173rd session of the BIE General Assembly was attended by delegates from member states of which Solomon Islands is a member. The main agenda item for the General Assembly was the election of the host country for the World Expo in 2030.

Three cities were nominated to the General Assembly, and they include Riyadh, Saudi Arabia; Busan, Republic of Korea; and Rome, Italy. The representatives of the three candidate cities made presentations of their Expo projects to the BIE Member States and followed by the voting whereby BIE Member States voted to elect the host country for World Expo 2030. Apart from the election, other presentations were made on reports of the various Committees of the BIE and progress reports from host countries for the Expo 2023 Doha, Osaka Expo 2025, and Belgrade 2027 Specialised Expo.

Riyadh, Saudi Arabia was elected winner for the World Expo 2030 after receiving a two-thirds majority of the votes from member states. The theme for the World Expo 2030 in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia is The Era of Change: Together for a Foresighted Tomorrow” and this will be held between 1 October 2030 and 31 March 2031.

Member States who were eligible to vote during the session were represented by delegates appointed by their respective governments and elected the host country in a secret ballot using electronic voting. Saudi Arabia was elected winner after the first round of voting, as it received the two-third majority required.

–MFAET PRESS RELEASE