Milan, June 6 - The chief of the Italian industrialists' group Confindustria says Milan Expo 2015 presents the first major event since the beginning of the economic crisis to stimulate economic growth in Italy.

"Expo is the first big event that can stimulate growth since the beginning of this blood-letting crisis," said Confindustria President Giorgio Squinzi, speaking to an assembly of industrialists in the northern Italian city of Varese on Tuesday.

Squinzi hailed the food-themed Universal Exposition as "a good opportunity" for economic recovery.

The theme of the world fair, which runs May 1 to October 31, 2015, is "Feeding the Planet - Energy for Life", and is focused on food security, sustainable agricultural practices, nutrition and battling hunger, as well as on dishing out the best edible fare of the world's culinary cultures.

"I would propose a G20 on health and quality of nutrition for Expo 2015," Italian Health Minister Beatrice Lorenzin said on the social network Twitter.

Lorenzin said it's "important to feed nine billion people, but also to keep them healthy".

Milan Expo 2015 received a new infusion of funds from the European Commission this week, thanks to a 510,000-euro subsidy allocated for guaranteeing compliance to EU directives in the food sector.

The European Commission is allocating 260,000 euros in 2014 for the Expo preparations for five specific contracts and another 250,000 euros for the preparation of Expo events from the second quarter of 2014 to the same period in 2015. Meanwhile, even Milan's fashion world is preparing to take advantage of the Universal Exposition.

The head of the Camera Nazionale della Moda (National Italian Chamber of Fashion) is working with the city administration to bring Italian fashion-themed exhibits to Milan to coincide with Expo. Exhibits could draw upon a Gucci museum and boutique in Sao Paolo, Brazil; the Pradasphere exhibition on Prada that just concluded at Harrods department store in London; and Giorgio Armani's itinerant exhibit Eccentrico, which was launched in Milan and has since traveled the globe. The exhibitions may be hosted in the fashion houses they concern to allow visitors to discover the workings of Italian fashion world.

Milan is preparing a packed calendar of events in the city to coincide with Expo, which will take place in an area of more than 100 hectares near Milan's massive Rho Pero trade fair exhibition centre.

The city administration of Milan and the Milan Chamber of Commerce on April 30 unveiled more than 130 events to take place in the city in May 2015 - only the first month of the six-month programme Expo in Citta (Expo in the City).

Expo in Citta events fall under ten key categories: performance, art, media, creativity & style, Leonardo, kids, science, well-being, world city and feed the planet.