Egyptian Ambassador Believes Expo Voting Will Please Izmir

IZMIR - Egyptian Ambassador to Turkey Alaa Eldin A. Shawky Elhadidi said Wednesday he believes Expo voting will please Aegean province of Izmir.
"There are strong relations between Turkey and Egypt, and Izmir's bid to host EXPO 2015 came up during President Abdullah Gul's visit to our country," he told Izmir Governor Cahit Kirac.
Elhadidi said, "I believe the result of voting will please your city."
The ambassador also said Egypt will participate in this year's Izmir International Fair with a large delegation of businessmen.
On the other hand, Kirac said he visited Egypt to lobby for Izmir's EXPO 2015 bid, and he saw close interest from this country.
EXPO 2015 is the next scheduled World's Fair after Expo 2012. The 2015 location has not yet been decided, and will be announced on March 31st, 2008.
Two candidate cities, Izmir and Italy's Milan, are competing to host the event, which is cited as the third largest event in the world in terms of economic and cultural impact, after the FIFA World Cup and the Olympic Games.