Shanghai Mayor Han Zheng delivers a speech at the opening ceremony of the Forum 2006 Expo 2010 Shanghai China.

Shanghai Daily news

The success of the 2010 World Expo is of interest to the world, so the development of its theme is of utmost importance, said Wu Jianmin, President of the Bureau of International Expositions today during the 2006 Forum - 2010 World Expo Shanghai, China.

The forum has the theme of "Better City, Better Life - making it happen, making it last."

Shanghai Mayor Han Zheng, also the acting Party chief of the Shanghai Municipal Committee of the Communist Party of China, along with V. G. Loscertales, BIE's Secretary General, Yu Ping, Vice President of China Council for the Promotion of International Trade and Shanghai vice Mayor Yang Xiong, attended the forum.

"The 2010 World Expo will be the first comprehensive Expo to be held in a developing country. It will enhance peace, friendship and cooperation around the world," said Wu. "It's already half way to the Expo, since Shanghai won the bid, so right now our top priority should be finding the best way to develop its theme."

Wu added that the World Expo is a very dynamic event that addresses major concerns of the world. With so many developing countries rising on the global stage and their acceleration into urbanisation, the theme "Better City, Better Life" can bring countries together and aid in their successful urbanisation.

Han Zheng welcomed all the guests and said that the preparations for the World Expo were going smoothly. He invited experts from all fields to share their wisdom and contribute to the 2010 Expo.

Yang Xiong introduced the latest progress of the Expo preparations.

More than 150 experts from both home and abroad will attended the forum, including Mayor of Zaragoza, Juan Alberto Belloch; French renowned architect, Jean-Marie Charpentier; Saskia Sassen, a professor of Sociology at the University of Chicago; and Sun Liping, Tsinghua University's professor of Sociology.