60th Hannover Fair Opens

The Hannover Fair, the world's principal annual exhibition for makers of industrial machinery, marked its 60th anniversary when it opened in the west German city of Hannover Monday.

More than 5,100 companies from 62 countries and regions are participating in the event, which runs till April 25.

Japan, this year's special guest, sent some 150 companies to exhibit products and technologies.

Energy-saving is one of the key themes at the fair, with a new section devoted to power-plant technology.

German Chancellor Angela Merkel attended the opening ceremony as part of the anniversary celebrations.

She urged Germany to make its society fit for the future.

Turning to the global financial crisis, Merkel repeated her call for greater transparency from financial institutions.

Source: CRIEnglish.com