VIENNA, April 19 (Xinhua) -- Austria regarded its participation in the World Expo 2010 in Shanghai as an opportunity to showcase a real and whole Austria to the world, Austrian Minister of Economy Reinhold Mitterlehner said on Monday.
Austria will take the opportunity to present Austria to the world by showcasing such aspects as environment, energy utilization, traffic, housing, health care and technological innovation, Mitterlehner said at a press conference.
He also mentioned that Austria should be regarded not only as a country of interesting tourist destinations, but also as an important economic partner as well as a country with high quality of life and good environment.
Christoph Leitl, director of the Austrian Chamber of Commerce, said he was "very happy" that Austria's economic circles can show themselves to the world at the Shanghai Expo.
Austria will take the opportunity to "strengthen Austria's attraction...to present Austria's modern technological development as well as technological improvement and economic performance," especially in the aspects of environmental technology, production and services, Leitl said.
About 1,000 enterprises from Austria will take part in hundreds of activities to seek cooperative partners for the purpose of expanding business, he added.
Leitl also said that Austria has close economic relationship with China, which is Austria's biggest trade partner in Asia. He hoped that Austria's exports to China would be doubled in the following five years.
Birgit Murr, vice chief representative of Austria's Pavilion at the Shanghai Expo, said in an interview with Xinhua that she appreciated China's adequate preparation for the Expo.
She said Austria would use a variety of techniques during the Expo such as practicality, scenery and projection, providing personal experience of crossing from high mountains to forests, passing the woody hills along a river and finally arriving at the city to enjoy Austria's economy and culture.
Austria has invested 16 million euros (about 22 million U.S. dollars) in building a state pavilion of 2,000 square meters at the expo.
The inspiration of Austria's pavilion came from a sailing boat partially, with a tactile impression of porcelain in the pavilion's interior design. In a symbolic way, the body of the Austria's pavilion is expressed by a Chinese character of "human" and the shadow projected by the pavilion's symbol was initial of the state's name "A."
The design of the pavilion is a clever combination of cultural elements of the two countries.
The interior area of the Austria's pavilion consists of five spaces, which will employ a wide range of multimedia tools to bring guests the vision as if they were really arriving in Austria.
Visitors could experience the real world with snow-capped mountains, forests, clear rivers and lakes as well as the perfect combination of modern and tradition, plus a musical journey in Austria.
