The Chief Executive, Mr Chui Sai On, holds a meeting with guests visiting Macao for the 23rd MIF and the 2018 PLPEX.
Macao is to advance its bridging functions between China and Portuguese-speaking countries, to ensure that all involved benefit from a greater number of development opportunities.
The Chief Executive, Mr Chui Sai On, made the remark today during a meeting with guests visiting Macao for the 23rd Macao International Trade and Investment Fair (MIF) and the 2018 Portuguese Speaking Countries Products and Services Exhibition (Macao) (2018 PLPEX).
Mr Chui said the Government looked forward to establishing closer ties and reciprocal relations with the participants of these two events, as Macao stepped up its efforts to promote its own economic diversification.
To advance Macao’s strategic role, the Government had established a number of internal committees in order to transform the city into a world centre of tourism and leisure, and a commercial and trade cooperationservice platform between China and Portuguese-speaking countries (collectively known as the “Centre and Platform” policies).
Mr Chui pointed out Macao enjoyed a number of unique advantages and bright prospects for development, thanks to the “One country, two systems” principle and the city’s sound socio-economic environment.
Other speakers at the meeting were the Minister of Industry and Trade of the Republic of Mozambique, Mr Ragendra Berta de Sousa; and Vice Governor of Fujian Province, Mr Zhang Zhinan.
Mr Sousa said he was pleased to have been invited to Macao for the 23rd MIF and the 2018 PLPEX, adding Macao has been an important platform for Mozambique to strengthen links with other countries and to promote its products worldwide.
The Minister stated he expected his Macao visit would boost closer ties with, respectively, other Portuguese-speaking countries, the mainland, and the two Special Administrative Regions (SARs) of China.
In his address, Vice Governor Zhang reviewed Fujian-Macao ties, in particular the way they had been intensified thanks to the Chief Executive’s visit to Fujian last year and a recent visit to Macao by the Secretary of the Fujian Provincial Committee of the Communist Party of China, Mr Yu Weiguo.
Mr Zhang said that Fujian and Macao could both play a crucial role in connecting countries and areas covered by the “Belt and Road” initiative and could jointly explore opportunities in Portuguese-speaking countries.
The Director of the Liaison Office of the Central People’s Government in the Macao SAR, Mr Zheng Xiaosong; and the Commissioner of the Office of the Commissioner of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of the People’s Republic of China in the Macao SAR, Ms Shen Beili, also attended the meeting.
Other officials joining the meeting included representatives respectively from Jiangsu Province; the State Ethnic Affairs Commission; the China Council for the Promotion of International Trade; the Government of the Republic of the Union of Myanmar; the Consulate General of Myanmar in Hong Kong; and the Consulate General of Portugal in Macao and Hong Kong; and ambassadors to China from respectively, Angola, Cabo Verde, Guinea-Bissau, Mozambique, São Tomé and Príncipe, and Timor-Leste.
The 23rd MIF and the 2018 PLPEX are being held by the Macao Trade and Investment Promotion Institute. The three-day events are to assist businesses wishing to grasp the opportunities presented by Macao’s “Centre and Platform” policies.
