The Shanghai Expo, to run from May 1 to Oct. 31, will be the first comprehensive World Expo hosted by a developing country.

Supachai said it is the "right time" for China to host this world event, as it has emerged as a mature member of the global community and the country would turn into "an economic powerhouse" in the near future.

He added that his agency would also like to make use of the opportunity to participate in "this Expo in a developing country" to highlight the need for developing countries to help each other through economic cooperation.

In June, the UNCTAD chief will be in Shanghai to launch the agency's annual Economic Development in Africa report. This year the report will deal with the theme "South-South Cooperation: Africa and the New Forms of Development Partnership."

In conjunction with the launch of the report, the UNCTAD will also organize a special seminar on China-Africa cooperation, entitled Fostering China-Africa Cooperation for Equitable Development, Supachai said.

"We do this at the Expo with the intention of highlighting the cooperation, economic cooperation between Chinese businesses and African investment opportunities," he said.

According to the UNCTAD chief, the World Expo, with a history of more than 150 years, is actually a result of globalization, which has brought people together and has "shrunk" the world.

Just like international trade fairs, the World Expo will stay, "because globalization is not going to retreat in spite of the facts of all the crises around the world," he said.

He added that the Expo, as part of the globalizing process, helps enhance understanding among nations and peoples, and "serves a very useful purpose."

The six-month event in Shanghai is expected to draw the participation of more than 200 countries and international organizations and attract some 70 million visitors from both China and abroad, organizers said.

(Xinhua News Agency April 15, 2010)