Shanghai Daily news

Shanghai Expo organizers spent a fruitful day in Beijing yesterday by signing contracts with three participants and a logistics services provider as well as confirming the seventh corporate pavilion.

The three countries are Serbia, the northeast African country Eritrea and the Seychelles, an island country in the Indian Ocean. Eritrea and Seychelles are the first two African countries signing for Expo.

So far 15 countries, including Britain, Canada, Switzerland and Spain, of the 196 confirmed participants, have signed agreements.

All the 48 African countries that have established diplomatic relationships with China have confirmed they wish to participate. Most will exhibit in Africa's joint pavilion which is provided free by the organizers.

The organizers later held a promotional meeting for the officials from foreign embassies in Beijing with the aim of filling the last four positions for their goal ?§(r) attracting 200 countries and international organizations ?§(r) and encouraging confirmed participants.

Also yesterday, a leading domestic logistics corporation was designated to provide logistics services for Expo after it signed a project sponsorship deal.

China National Foreign Trade Transportation Group Corporation (Sinotrans), a comprehensive logistics services provider, has already expanded its business to several foreign countries and now will support World Expo Shanghai 2010 with logistics services and a wide-ranging operational network, Miao Gengshu, chairman of Sinotrans, promised at the signing ceremony.

Shanghai Expo will select two or three companies as logistics services providers. Sinotrans is the first confirmed logistics sponsor.

Sinotrans has served as a logistics agent for several major sporting events, including the 11th Asian Games and the Formula One Chinese Grand Prix. It is also a senior sponsor for the Chinese Olympic Committee.

It was among the early 44 supporting corporations in China's bid for the 2010 Expo.

The organizers also announced that China's Ministry of Railway has confirmed it will build a railway pavilion on the site. The China Railway Pavilion will use high-tech to showcase the way railway has influenced civilization and China's achievement in this field, the organizers said.