London hosts Great Silk Road and Astana EXPO 2017 roadshow

Participants were informed on preparations for the EXPO 2017 international exhibition, which will involve around 3,000 economic, scientific, and cultural events, including the Shanghai Cooperation Organisation Summit; the first Organisation of Islamic Cooperation Summit on Science and Technology; ministerial forums with the UN World Tourism Organisation and Ministers of Energy; and the World Scientific and Engineers Congress.

Mr Kairat Sadvakassov, Commercial Director of SkyWay Travel, noted that it will be the first time EXPO is hosted by a CIS country or a Central Asian state, Kazinform learnt from the website of the Kazakh Embassy  in the UK. 

Under the guidance of Kazakhstan's President Nazarbayev, the EXPO 2017 infrastructure will support a number of projects, including the United Nations International Centre on developing ‘green technologies', the Astana International Financial Centre, and other investment projects. The site will also help strengthen Astana's economic and infrastructural development.

UK tour operators were particularly interested in presentations given by Air Astana on specialised tour packages, which included free EXPO tickets as well as information on Kazakhstan's 30 day visa-free regime and the launch of a fifth weekly flight from London to Astana.

The roadshow was jointly organised by the Embassy of Kazakhstan to the UK and the Astana EXPO 2017 National Company.