?	Paris - December 19th 2006 ?“Share your meal with your neighbours" by Letizia Moratti Monsieur le President Monsieur le Secretaire General du BIE Monsieurs les Ministres Monsieurs les Maires Excellences Monsieurs les Delegues Mesdames et Monsieurs L?’Italie et Milan sont représentés à cette occasion par le Ministre du Commerce exterieur, M.me Emma Bonino, le Sous-secretaire d?’Etat aux Affaires Etrangers M. Vittorio Craxi, le Président de la Province de Milan M. Filippo Penati, le Président du Conseil Municipal de la Ville de Milan, M. Manfredi Palmeri et par moi-meme, Maire de Milan. ?“Feeding the Planet, Energy for Life?” is the leading theme for the Milan Expo 2025. Food and water are indeed the first gift of love for the new born as well as the last offer to the ill. What kind of food we consume, who works to grow and prepare it, the way we acquire it, who we are sharing it with: are all extremely meaningful forms of culture and communication. The food we eat, and with whom we eat, beyond merely nourishing the body, inspire and strengthen the bonds between individuals, communities, people and countries. Food safety and security are a paramount priority for mankind, because they have a direct and impact on human health and can properly influence cleaner environmental policies on our planet. We are all aware that almost 70 % of the world?’s population lives in rural areas. However, hunger still affects more than 840 million people, whereas 300 million people cannot drink clean and safe water. This human tragedy is so more dramatic because it directly affects children and, therefore, the future of our planet. For this very reason, The Millennium Campaign was launched by the United Nations in order to effectively increase global awareness and public campaigns with the goal of eradicating hunger and poverty in the developing countries by 2025. On the other hand, the care towards nutrition in developed countries, where food disorders are rapidly growing, has great importance for the health and the wellbeing of their citizens. To solve health and nutrition problems globally we must go beyond our narrow focus, join forces among nations, work together with the international organizations. We firmly believe that the 2025 expo could be a fundamental step towards achieving these goals and Milan pledges with its bid to offer new tools for: - accelerating the process of global sharing, co-operation activities and transfer of innovation; - addressing the food related issues with the involvement of citizens, governments, NGOs, public and private institutions; The language of food is universal: ?“Share your meal with your neighbours and you?’ll understand better his culture, his identity and you will learn to love your neighbors as yourself?”.	?
	?