Costa Rican president Rodrigo Chaves Robles, in announcing his country’s decision, reaffirmed the importance of the relationship with Saudi Arabia as a strategic partner in the Middle East and values the prospects of expanding economic, trade and investment cooperation between the two nations.

“President of the Republic, Rodrigo Chaves announced Costa Rica’s official support for Saudi Arabia for Expo 2030. The announcement was made in a meeting with the investor mission of that country,” the Central American country’s foreign ministry said in a post on social media.

The announcement coincided with a visit of a Saudi official trade and investment mission headed by Badr Al-Badr, deputy minister at Saudi Arabia’s Ministry of Investment.

Al-Badr explored investment prospects in transportation infrastructure projects, medical tourism and desalination projects. Furthermore, the delegation expressed the importance of generating synergies with the Costa Rican public and private sectors in order to create more growth and investment opportunities.

Saudi Arabia is Costa Rica’s main trading partner in the Middle East. Total trade between the two countries reached $103 million in 2022.

Arnoldo Andre, Costa Rica’s foreign minister, stressed that the Saudi delegation’s visit was a “testimony to the growth of friendship and the solid relations between both nations.”

The Kingdom has been receiving huge support for its effort to bring one of the oldest and largest international events to the Saudi capital considering its advantage against rival bidders Odessa, Rome and Busan.

A team from the Bureau International des Expositions (BIE) – which holds the Expo events – recently visited Saudi Arabia for an enquiry mission where they looked into detailed presentations, toured the proposed Expo site and held dialogues with various stakeholders of the project proposal.

Dimitri Kerkentzes, secretary general of the BIE, said that the Kingdom has ‘everything needed’ to host a successful Expo 2030 at the culmination of their five-day visit, where they also met Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman.

“We have seen a project strong from the very top, from His Royal Highness, all the way down to government, from every minister and every member of Saudi Arabia that we have met and have spoken to, all have an incredible support for this project.”

Held since 1851, World Expos are the world’s largest platform to showcase the latest achievements and technologies and celebrate the cultural values that unite humanity.