Mali from Dubai: We want to bring 15 more countries to EXPO 2027 VIDEO

The summit is being held until Thursday, February 5, under the slogan “Shaping Future Governments.”

Reflecting on Kristalina Georgieva’s presentation about slowing global growth, Finance Minister Siniša Mali noted that Serbia’s public debt currently stands at just 40.9% of GDP, describing Serbia as a low-debt country. He added that next year, with the EXPO, Serbia expects GDP growth of 5.0%, indicating that the country is returning to a path of accelerated growth and development.

According to him, Serbia is financially secure with the funds it has in its accounts. Regarding public debt as a share of GDP, he emphasized that it is well below the European average and noted that, according to International Monetary Fund estimates, global public debt as a share of world GDP will reach nearly 100% by 2029.

He stressed the importance of Serbia’s presence at the Dubai summit.

“This is the largest World Government Summit, held here in Dubai for 13 consecutive years. There are over 500 ministers, 35 heads of state and government. Unlike, for example, Davos, where I was about ten days ago—Davos is business and also politics—here it is politics with business. I think it is very important that we are here to hear about the challenges faced by those leading countries or financial institutions,” he said.

He highlighted that the summit identified four key factors, or challenges, for further development: artificial intelligence, the digital environment, energy, and medical progress.

He added that Botswana has tentatively confirmed its participation in the specialized Expo 2027 exhibition and said the goal is to increase the number of participants at the Belgrade Expo to at least 140 countries.

“I set myself the goal that after this summit we bring 15 more countries to Belgrade. Maybe that’s a bit ambitious, but right now, believe it or not, we have 133 countries that have confirmed their participation in Expo 2027 in Belgrade,” he told Tanjug at the summit in Dubai, which runs until February 7.

Mali recalled that the specialized exhibition in Astana in 2017 was so far the most successful, with 115 participants, emphasizing that Serbia has already significantly exceeded that number.

“We won’t stop. We said let’s aim for at least 140. If Botswana has tentatively agreed, I still have 14 countries as a personal task to talk to their representatives and try to find a way for them to come to Belgrade,” the minister said.

According to him, Expo Belgrade 2027 will be the largest event in the world that year, as well as the largest international event ever held in Serbia.

“We’re talking about innovation, artificial intelligence, and new technologies. In 2027, Belgrade will be the center of all of this. We want to present ourselves to the world in the right way, but also to hear what others have to offer and show us where the world is heading,” Mali said.

He also stressed that the EXPO represents Serbia’s greatest development opportunity, which must not be missed.

Over three days, the World Government Summit will bring together more than 6,000 participants, representing over 150 government delegations from around the world, as well as more than 20 top officials from global and regional organizations, who will take part in 25 forums and over 450 sessions.

The summit will also feature more than 40 roundtables and ministerial meetings.