ASTANA – Spanish King Felipe VI on Saturday inaugurated the country’s pavilion at the Astana Expo and showed the world and central Asian economies in particular its caliber in the renewable energy sector.

Astana Expo 2017 – whose theme is “Future Energy” – began on Friday in Kazakhstan with the goal of moving toward a more sustainable development model in order to tackle climate change.

Spain, one of the 115 countries and 22 international organizations participating in the Expo, aims to showcase itself as a “pioneer, innovator and visionary” in the clean energy industry.

After having a bilateral meet with Kazakh President Nursultan Nazarbayev at the Ak Orda Presidential Palace in the capital earlier Saturday, King Felipe VI went to the Expo to inaugurate the Spanish pavilion which is themed “Energy for the Planet.”

Felipe VI was accompanied by the Spanish Foreign Minister Alfonso Dastis, Culture Secretary Fernando Benzo and Marca España High Commissioner Carlos Espinosa de los Monteros at the event.

The pavilion’s entrance was adorned with a huge red and yellow mural titled “Como pavesas encendidas” (Like Burning Ashes) by artist Alberto Corazon, depicting the power of energy symbolized by fire.

Photos of Spanish monuments, festivals and culture, including the Alhambra of Granada, flamenco, San Fermin, tapas, high-velocity trains, football players and cyclist Alberto Contador grab tourists’ attention at the pavilion.

While in conversation with Carmen Bueno, head of the Spanish pavilion, Felipe VI stopped before a world map with all the clean energy projects that Spanish companies have developed in five continents, particularly in the solar and wind industries.

The monarch also used the occasion to have a chat with Spanish people living in Kazakhstan, after which he briefly visited the German, Dutch and Monacan pavilions before finally leaving the Expo.

The Expo will run until Sept. 10 in the Kazakh capital.