RIYADH: The chief of the Common Market for Eastern and Southern Africa (COMESA) on Thursday expressed the organization’s support for Saudi Arabia’s bid to host Expo 2030, stressing that the Kingdom possesses great capabilities that enable it to hold a historic and successful version with the highest levels of innovation. During a meeting with Saudi Royal Court Adviser Ahmed Qattan in Zambia, COMESA’s acting Secretary-General Dev Haman praised Saudi Arabia’s tireless efforts in seeking to consolidate its relations with all African countries, the Saudi Press Agency reported. He also welcomed the first Saudi-African Summit and the Fifth Arab-African Summit to be held in Riyadh. Adviser Qattan stressed that the inaugural Saudi-African summit emanates from the Kingdom’s keenness to enhance partnerships with all African countries. He also commended African states’ support for the Saudi Expo bid. Five countries — Saudi Arabia, South Korea, Italy, Ukraine and Russia — are competing to host the global event. Nigeria, Mauritius, Kenya, Zambia, Djibouti, Morocco and Cameroon were among other countries who earlier pledged full support for Saudi Arabia’s bid to host the event. The Organization of Islamic Cooperation pitched its backing of Riyadh’s bid to host Expo 2030. Dubai hosted the most recent expo – from Oct. 1, 2021 until March 31, 2022 – while the next one will be held in Osaka, Kansai, Japan between April to October 2025.