Reaching a record number of participants, as came to be the case, was an objective that was keenly pursued with the assistance of various governmental entities, of which we highlight Portugal’s Ministries of Foreign Affairs and of the Economy (the latter through its ICEP Agency). The EXPO Organisation was greatly committed to bring to Lisbon the highest possible number of country exhibitors as a means of widening the opportunity for different cultures and civilisations to meet in a single place, and that was one of the most notable achievements of the EXPO '98.