UN Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon will deliver the opening remarks at the 2010 Shanghai World Expo Summit Forum on October 31, according to organizers.

Participants at the forum, co-hosted by the Shanghai World Expo organizing committee, the United Nations, and the International Expositions Bureau (BIE), will discuss urban innovation and sustainable development," Hong Hao, director general of the Bureau of Shanghai World Expo Coordination, said yesterday.

Nearly 2,000 people will attend the one-day forum, including state leaders of China, government heads, Nobel Prize winners, mayors of major cities, business leaders and prestigious scholars.

They will discuss how cities can improve through information industry, innovation, science and technology and community governance. At its conclusion, the forum will release the "Shanghai Declaration."

Some 60 guests from 21 countries and regions have confirmed they will deliver a speech or join a discussion. The list includes: Gerhard Schroder, former chancellor of Germany, Lu Yongxiang, president of the Chinese Academy of Sciences, Nicholas Stern, former chief economist of the World Bank, and Gregor Robertson, mayor of Vancouver, Canada.

"The opening ceremony will be at 9am with a speech by one of China's state leaders and remarks by Ban and BIE's secretary general Vicente Loscertales," Hong said.

"The plenary session after the ceremony will mainly discuss how to realize sustainable development via urban renovation," he added.

Seven sub-seminars will focus on topics including "knowledge innovation and cultural cities," as well as "green development and ecological cities."

Hong said the forum's topic matches the Shanghai Expo theme of "Better City, Better Life," which focuses on the harmonious relationship between humanity and nature along with sustainable development.

The forum advocates looking for new ways to create sustainable development in cities through innovation.

It provides an opportunity for participants to value Expo Shanghai's legacy and reflect on problems that crop up during urbanization, Hong said.

Six other Expo forums and various seminars have been held during the course of the event.