The Milan Expo site will become in the future a global center for sustainable development and nutrition in the fight against hunger and poverty, Milan mayor Letizia Moratti told Xinhua in a recent exclusive interview.

Moratti said she did not want to build a physical landmark as Paris did with the Eiffel Tower. The Milan expo, scheduled for 2015, will be about major plans to transform the site into a global headquarters for advancing scientific research on the expo's leading theme -- "Feeding the Planet, Energy for Life".

"What we would like to leave as legacy is a location which will become a point of network to be linked to the world's most important research centers and universities with one objective: disseminating the expo's message in as many countries as possible to build schools, labs, hospitals and give a contribution to the achievement of the Millennium Development Goals, first of all the eradication of hunger and poverty," she said.

The mayor is thus already at work to turn the 2015 expo into a success by making its site a heritage gift for the entire human beings.

Moratti is the woman who won the bid to host in Milan the 2015 expo. As an important businesswoman and former Education and University Minister, she has been named by Prime Minister Silvio Berlusconi Special Representative of the Italian government for the World Expo Milan 2015.

Talking at the opening ceremony of an art exhibition on the Chinese and Roman empires, she stressed that the Milan Universal Expo will be much more than a simple event and that as mayor she was working in close contact with the Shanghai organizers to make the best of the relay race between the two cities.

"We wanted the expo for different reasons: not only to showcase the excellences of the agro-food industry of Milan and Italy but also to give an opportunity to all countries of the world to share the idea of working together for some years and then showcase projects on the leading theme," she said.

Her dream is to make it a truly universal exposition, "interesting for all participating countries." She highlighted that the 2015 expo will focus on nutrition and thus everything related to it: agriculture, the food supply chain, environment, health and food security.

The location of Milan will be different from the one of Shanghai. "We're working with some of the most important architects of the world, famous for eco-sustainability and what we would like to create is a site that in itself represents the theme we are showcasing. It will be a sort of planetarium or garden orchard, something we would like visitors to experience."

The expo's guests are set to live a 6-sense experience tour amid food tasting booths and greenhouses reproducing the world's climates and main cultivations. Some 20 million people are expected to attend the event.

Moratti recalled the emotion in winning the global competition. "It was very exciting because it was indeed tough. The Turkish city of Izmir was a strong contender and we had to convince 155 countries, where each one had its individual vote."

Before the bidding campaign, the mayor visited Shanghai to understand how the Chinese municipality had succeeded in winning the expo 2010 event.

"It was a very important lesson I learnt," she noted, adding that relations between Shanghai and Milan, "the sister cities," were excellent.

Moratti will go to Shanghai twice for the expo. "One for the Milan week in May when we will be showcasing cultural excellences including La Scala opera house, Il Piccolo Theatre and the best of our fashion, innovation and design. Then I will be going back in October to receive the testimony from the Shanghai organizers for the following Milan expo."

Each time she goes to China, she confesses she comes back with "a lot of energy."

The Shanghai Expo official website has listed Moratti among the 100 most eminent voices of the planet. In a written tribute published here, Moratti praised the excellent state of bilateral ties.

The mayor welcomed the special agreement recently signed between Milan and Shanghai to further multi-level cooperation in promoting the relay race between the two cities. She recalled that after Milan won the 2015 expo bid, it was picked by an international panel as the Best Urban Practice Area for the Shanghai exposition, beating hundreds of world-renowned metropolises including London, Paris, Madrid and Hong Kong.

"We will move forward side by side with Shanghai through its friendliness, enthusiastic participation and cooperation," she concluded.

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