Colombia gets ready for Shanghai Expo

CARTAGENA, Colombia - Colombia is ready for the Expo 2010 in the Chinese city of Shanghai, officials said Thursday.

"Colombia has a fabulous pavilion to showcase the most important asset of the country. We'll present shows and traditional products," Colombian Trade Minister Luis Guillermo Plata told Xinhua on the sidelines of the World Economic Forum on Latin America in the coastal city Cartagena.

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"For sure we cannot compete with Germany or the United States in the size of pavilion, but we can (compete with them) in the cultural aspect, which is our advantage," Plata said.

The Shanghai Expo will be held between May and October 2010 under the theme "Better city, better life." A total of 190 countries will participate in the Expo, and it is expected to attract 70 million visitors.

Colombia is going to participate in the Expo as part of the promotion it has been conducting in the past four months, ProExport's president Maria Elvira Pombo, who is in charge of export promotion and foreign investment in Colombia, told Xinhua.

"This is part of a strategy to integrate with Asia-Pacific. We are eager and ready to take part in the Shanghai Expo together with Brazil and the United States," Pombo said.

Colombia will welcome visitors with a pavilion decorated with gigantic hearts, where singers and folklore groups will perform and interactive activities such as drawings will be held.