The Chief Executive, Mr Chui Sai On, today met the Secretary of Inner Mongolia Autonomous Region CPC Committee, Mr Hu Chunhua, at the start of a four-day visit to the autonomous region in northern China. In the meeting, Mr Hu said that despite possessing enormous resources and an expanding economy, Inner Mongolia still had to open up and it could make use of Macao's role as a platform for Portuguese-speaking countries and other places. Mr Hu also thanked the Macao Foundation for donating 30 million RMB for the construction of a library in Inner Mongolia. The Chief Executive said Macao and Inner Mongolia had been co-operating in various areas for a long time, such as in tourism and trade. Since Macao could act as a business platform for Portuguese-speaking countries, Macao and Inner Mongolia could visit the Lusophone countries together and explore their markets in the future, Mr Chui said. Macao could host a trade event in Inner Mongolia next year to promote trade and in particular, tourism, and other means of co-operation, and to set up a direct flight route in the future. Mr Chui and his official delegation also visited the Inner Mongolia Museum, Dazhao Temple, and the production line of Yili Group, a milk producer. He also attended the donation ceremony by the Macao Foundation and an agreement signing ceremony between Macao entrepreneurs and their Inner Mongolia counterparts. Mr Chui left Macao this morning for this four-day visit, at the invitation of the People's Government of Inner Mongolia Autonomous Region.
