DHAKA, Sept. 27 (Xinhua) -- "Shanghai Expo has brought me unforgettable memories though I paid only one-day visit," Khandaker Mosharraf Hossain, president of Bangladesh-China Friendship Association, said here recently.
While being interviewed by Xinhua at his residence in Bangladesh's capital Dhaka, Mosharraf said he has been to different international exhibitions, but Shanghai Expo he visited in July is really an exception from other exhibitions.
"In other international exhibitions, the exhibitors go with their products and want to sell and make money. But this is not like other exhibitions, this is World Expo. Each exhibitor comes with the idea to introduce and promote their country," he said.
Mosharraf said Shanghai Expo has provided a platform for the exhibiting countries to show their history and culture.
"The visitors can learn many things from the expo. The exhibiting countries also can learn from each other and strengthen the cooperation among them," he said.
Musharraf has visited China 9 times since 1984. "I thought I knew China a lot. But after visiting China Pavilion in the expo, I realized how little I know about China," he said.
Musharraf said during the 4-hour stay in China Pavilion, he experienced China's 5000 years history which is fantastic to him.
"You feel like that you are inside the history and you are part of it. You are walking in the buildings, in a tower thousands years back. You forget yourself," he said.
Musharraf very much appreciated the design of China Pavilion which not only tells the history of China, but also the present and the future of the country.
"The pavilion also give me idea that from present how China is thinking about the future," he said.
Musharraf praised the achievement China has made over the last 30 years.
"Every time I visited China I could find the changes. It is really a miracle how China develop so fast in a short time," he said.
Musharraf visited Shanghai in early 2000s. But the present Pudong where the expo is situated to him seems like rising from the ground.
"Pudong is totally different from what I saw last time. It is unbelievable," he said.
Musharraf feels regret he could not see more in the expo for his short stay in Shanghai. But he lauded the Chinese government for its successfully hosting the expo.
"It is not only a World Expo, it is a window showing Chinese strength and ability," he said.
From Beijing Olympics in 2008 to Shanghai Expo in 2010, the world is surprised at what China has done, Musharraf said.
Musharraf has been president of Bangladesh-China Friendship Association since early 1990s. In addition to his dedication to promoting the friendship between Bangladesh and China on a civilian level, Musharraf was Energy and Mineral Resources Minister during 1991-1996 and Health Minister from 2001 to 2006.
