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The theme of the coming World Expo 2010 Shanghai China is “Better City, Better Life”. Most part of visitors will look for favorable conditions of better tourism and favorable conditions of better business-proposals directed to better quality of life (The armenian version of the article is available here: Սամվել Մուրադյան. «Շանհայ ԷՔՍՊՈ 2010»-ը և 2մլն ԱՄՆ դոլլարը).

In this exhibition, our government has decided to introduce the concept of possibility to build a “world city” by world nations. The concept aims to assure visitors tolerance of Armenia to foreign cultures. Thus, on the background of mountain Ararat, the visitors will view breadboard model of a new, not existing city. Around the city model, it is specified to put paper-materials and personal computers, which make exhibits very limited in quantity and completely non-equivalent to present technological level of the exhibitions.

Even if we are able to convince some visitors of the exhibition that Armenians are ready to sacrifice to the concept of tolerance the last part of Araratyan Valley we were able to save in the battle of Sardarapat, anyway, no one of visitors will plan to take a journey to a non-existent city and no one of businessmen will plan business-relations with a non-existent city.

The economic exhibition is not the place, where you can meet those persons, who deal with and consider the concepts of tolerance cities. Even if we meet such persons in the exhibition, using plastic boxes, we will not be able to present him issues important for decision making. Such persons, for example, will be interested in, who will build the city, the financial sources, who will reside in the city, under which political-governmental authority the city will be, how citizens will work and live there, etc.

As a result, for showing our tolerance to unsuitable auditorium, we will lose opportunity to present for 6 months continuously our business and partnership proposals in tourism, science, industry, transport communications, in most rapidly developing country of the world.

In the mentioned spheres we, as a nation and as a country, have much to say and these are presented to the government by different organizations. I will describe, for example, only one of them. Zvartnots airport is located in the middle of ways from Indochina to Europe. It is very convenient to use Zvartnots airport for transfer flights, as Zvartnots has advanced airport services, it is on 20-minute road to capital city with 1 million populations and rich historical-cultural heritage and it suggests simplified visa regime to enter the country. No airport with its internal infrastructure is able to provide better rest and entertainment conditions for long-time waiting passengers. Introduction of hub-airport concept could stimulate exploitation of middle size aircrafts on Indochina-Europe directions and develop not only Zvartnots airport and related companies, but also tourism servicing infrastructures. Even if this idea is not caught by fast growing Chinese aviation, prepared video and multimedia materials could be successfully presented on monitors in exhibition hall to fanciers of cultural tourism.

It is obvious that it is not possible to realize such a project for $2mln and within two months, as for real wide expenses there is neither space nor enough time, so, we suggest choosing in parallel some high technological project that can help us introduce Armenian governmental and national interests as well.

Expo 2010 due in Shanghai, China May 1 - October 31, 2010 is a scheduled World Expo in the tradition of international fairs and expositions. Expo 2010 will illustrate the concept of "Better City, Better Life" from five perspectives: culture, economy, science and technology, communities and rural-urban relations. China selected it because it reflects issues of universal concern about the development of the human society in the 21st century. Developing urban environments with quality of life as an objective has become a focus for governments and the general public in the world. 192 countries and more than 50 international organizations will participate in the Shanghai World Expo. China expects to receive almost 100 foreign leaders and millions of people from across the world to come and visit the World Expo. 70 million visitors are expected, the largest in history. "Better City, Better Life" aims at finding harmonious solutions for building urban environments of tomorrow.

Aviainfotel CJSC
General constructor
Samvel Muradyan