CE pledges to maintain open trade policy

The Chief Executive, Mr Edmund Ho Hau Wah, today told World Trade Organization delegates attending a meeting in Macao that the SAR Government would maintain its transparent and open trade policy to provide a level-playing field for local and foreign businesses. Mr Ho made the pledge as he addressed the opening session of “Delivering on the WTO Round: A High-Level Government-Business Dialogue for Development”, jointly held by United Nations Economic and Social Commission for Asia and the Pacific (UNESCAP) and International Trade Centre (ITC). Among the delegates at the session were the Under-Secretary General of the United Nations and Executive Secretary of UNESCAP, Dr. Kim Hak-Su, and the Director of Division of Trade Support Services of ITC, Mr. Ramamurti Badrinath. “In accordance with the ‘One country, Two systems’ principle and under the Basic Law, our mini-constitution, the SAR Government will insist on taking responsibilities as a member of the international community by maintaining a transparent and open trade policy as a right way forward in creating a level-playing field for local and foreign businesses.” Mr Ho said in the past few years, Macao had achieved successful regional integration on trade and services with the Pearl River Delta and increasingly greater access to the Mainland under the framework of the Closer Economic Partnership Arrangement (CEPA). And last year, cooperation had further widened to the Pan-Pearl River Delta Region, which includes nine Mainland provinces and the two Special Administrative Regions of Hong Kong and Macao. “In order to maintain the momentum of growth, we endeavour to foster closer and long-term trade cooperation with other economies. Our main thrust now is to work together with places closer to us.” He said that UNESCAP had worked strenuously in uniting its 62 members in search of human development, social and economic progress, and had assisted governments in member countries to more effectively participate in regional and global trade. Meanwhile, the ITC helped the business sectors of developing countries to deepen their understanding of the WTO rules. Today’s meeting also helped forge a timely opportunity to evaluate the progress of the Doha Development Agenda, which provided ground for negotiations towards a fair trading environment at both national and international levels, and promoted dialogue to shelter the complexities involved in cooperation among different economies in the region characterised by extreme diversity. “In a geographic area with economies as diverse as those in the UNESCAP region, an even and fair distribution of costs and benefits across countries would have to be a recurring concern when trade openness and regional integration take shape,” Mfr Ho said. Under-Secretary General of UN and Executive Secretary of the UNESCAP, Dr Kim Hak-Su, said that Macao’s history was inextricably linked to trade and the wealth brought by trade. Macao’s unique history had blended diverse cultures and the signs of a vibrant economy were amply evident. “But more important for me, is to observe how economic prosperity blends with a stable and harmonious society,” Dr Kim said. The Director of Division of Trade Support Services of ITC, Mr Ramamurti Badrinath, said the objective of the meeting was to bring participating businesspeople and government officials closer together to let them contribute to the success of the Doha Development Round for the benefit of their own businesses and countries. At the opening session, Senior Under Secretary of the Department of Trade and Industry of the Philippines, Mr Thomas Aquino, was elected Chairman of the meeting. Mr Sou Tim Peng, Acting Director of Macao Economic Services, was elected Deputy Chairman. More then 150 officials, prominent entreplenures, intrnational organisation delegates and academics had participated in the meeting to discuss regional commerce and the related effects, in serach of enhancing dicision making in trade policy