Costa Rica to participate in Expo Shanghai

For the next six months, Costa Rica will be one of 189 countries participating in Expo Shanghai, the international business promotion fair held in Shanghai, China from May 1 through October 31. The mammoth fair, which was inaugurated with opening ceremonies and a parade on Saturday, aims to promote exchange of economic, social, environmental and technological ideas among participating countries.

Each country at the fair will have a pavilion where themes related to the purpose of the fair as well as its own traditions will be displayed. According to Costa Rica´s Foreign Trade Promotion Office (PROCOMER), the Costa Rican pavilion will feature the themes of peace, the environment, energy efficiency, education and the country´s commitment to high technology.

Costa Rica is located in Zone C of the massive sprawl of pavilions, grouped together with the other Central American nations of Honduras, Nicaragua, El Salvador, Guatemala and Panama. The area of the fair´s pavilions covers several city blocks and includes a bridge over the Huangpu River that connects two separate areas of the Expo. The Costa Rican pavilion covers 324 square meters and will be decorated in the red, blue and white colors of the national flag.

“This is the exposition of all expositions,” said Emmanuel Hess, the General Manager of PROCOMER. “The participation of Costa Rica gives us the opportunity to promote the country on the world stage. Visitors will see the (country´s) great diversity of natural riches, that we are a heavenly destination and have a stable business environment. It should be an event that attracts new investors and introduces a larger number of people to the Costa Rican culture.”

On October 29, the Costa Rica pavilion will host its “national day” and will celebrate with national drinks and coffee, souvenirs, traditional food, an art exposition by the sculptor Manuel Jorge Jiménez Deredia and musical performances by the group Malpaís and Manuel Obregón, who is also the incoming culture minister in the government of President Laura Chinchilla.

Expo Shanghai estimates that 70 million people will visit the fair over the next six months. Shanghai is one of the most populous cities in the world, with around 20 million residents. For more information on Expo Shanghai, visit www.en.expo2010.cn.