Secretary Leong Vai Tac (R) and Vice Minister João Leopoldo da Costa in a group photo
Secretary for Economy and Finance of the Macao SAR Government, Leong Vai Tac, met with Vice Minister for Health of Mozambique, João Leopoldo da Costa, in an official visit to Macao on 6 December. At the meeting, both parties engaged in a profound discussion and exchange of ideas on the cooperation in Traditional Chinese Medicine (TCM) of Macao and the Traditional Chinese Medicine Science and Technology Industrial Park of Co-operation between Guangdong and Macao (hereinafter as “Industrial Park”) among other issues with Mozambique.
Secretary Leong Vai Tac extended his welcome to Vice Minister João Leopoldo da Costa, addressing the fruitful outcomes of the cooperation in TCM industry between Mozambique and Macao. The Vice Minister pointed out, in his turn, that he felt honoured to visit Macao, including the Industrial Park, and expressed his thanks to Macao for the contribution to the development of the health sector of Mozambique. In recent years, the Industrial Park has achieved significant outcomes in terms of TCM education and training in Mozambique. It was also noted his expectations that both parties would deepen their collaboration in provision of more training courses on special TCM therapies, aiming to improve the capacities of trainees, and strengthen mutual cooperation on research and development of pharmaceuticals, education and training, diagnosis and treatment, and quality of medical care, among others.
As regards the development of TCM industry, Leong Vai Tac expressed his hope that Mozambique would serve as a platform and a point of entry for relevant TCM businesses in the Guangdong-Hong Kong-Macao Greater Bay Area to have a “soft landing” in Africa. In his view, to accomplish such a goal, there is still ample space for mutual cooperation between Macao and Mozambique on the basis of current cooperation framework, particularly in terms of development of Mozambique into a base in Africa for TCM and training of TCM practitioners.
Also present at this meeting were the Acting Consul General and Counsellor to the Consul General of the Republic of Mozambique in Macao Special Administrative Region of the People’s Republic of China, Mr. Francisco Domingos Manhiça, the Director of the National Institute for Traditional and Alternative Medicine, Ministry of Health of Mozambique, Ms. Felisbela Gaspar, the Representative of Mozambique in the Permanent Secretariat of Forum for Economic and Trade Co-operation between China and Portuguese-speaking Countries (Macao), Ms. Francisca Reino, the Chief of Office to the Secretary for Economy and Finance, Ms. Teng Nga Kan, the Advisor of Office to the Secretary for Economy and Finance, President and CEO of Guangdong-Macao Traditional Chinese Medicine Technology Industrial Park Development Co., Ltd., Ms. Lu Hong, and Advisors to the Office of the Secretary for Economy and Finance, among others.
