Colombia commemorates Shanghai Expo participation

 Colombia held a grand ceremony Wednesday night at the National Museum to commemorate its participation in the 2010 Shanghai Expo, including the official launch of a book that captures the best moments at the Colombian Pavilion during the Expo.

Chinese Ambassador to Colombia Gao Zhengyue told Xinhua at the event that the Expo was a great opportunity for Colombia to show its best side to the world.

"Colombia was one of the countries which actively participated in Shanghai Expo. Through the expo many people from China and other countries got to know that Colombia is a very rich country whose coffee and emeralds, for example, are now more famous not only in China but around the world," he said.

Thus, the expo enables Colombia to continue presenting itself to the world as a country with great potential, Gao said.

At Shanghai Expo, Colombia also left an open invitation to people around the world to meet its beautiful landscapes, diverse folklore, quality coffee, emeralds, handicrafts and joyful people, he said.

"Hopefully in the future not only Chinese but also tourists from other countries will come to visit this beautiful country. We'll keep working hard to further strengthen ties between China and Colombia," said Gao.

Ambassador Gustavo Gaviria, commissioner-general of Colombia's special mission for Shanghai Expo, thanked China for its hospitality.

Colombia achieved a lot at the Expo, attracting more than 3 million visitors to its country pavilion, establishing contacts with more than 700 potential Chinese investors, signing three memorandums of understanding, and drawing at least 15 Chinese delegations to visit the country, Gaviria added.

"It's really going to make history for the relations between Colombia and Asia, and between Colombia and China. In fact we're not ending anything today, we are celebrating the opening of new relationships," he said.

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