The Government has set up a committee to coordinate Macao’s effort regarding integrating further with the national development effort, according to Executive Order No 67/2021 published today in the Macao SAR Gazette.
The Working Committee for Integrating into National Development will be responsible for coordinating work for the overall strategy – in the short-, medium-, and long-term – regarding Macao’s participation in, and contribution to, the country’s “Belt and Road” initiative, and the Guangdong-Hong Kong-Macao Greater Bay Area. The Committee will also conduct research to help draft policies related to such effort.
The Committee’s responsibilities will additionally include: the conduct of research for advancing Macao’s positioning as, respectively, a world centre of tourism and leisure; a commercial and trade cooperation service platform between China and Portuguese-speaking countries; and as a multiple-culture exchange and cooperation base with an emphasis on Chinese culture (collectively known as the centre, platform, and base policies). The Committee’s effort will contribute to policy formulation, and the implementation of relevant strategies and measures.
The new Committee will be directly under the supervision of the Chief Executive, who is defined in the Executive Order as the Committee’s Chairman. Other members will include: the Secretary for Administration and Justice; the Secretary for Economy and Finance; the Secretary for Social Affairs and Culture; the Secretary for Security; the Secretary for Transport and Public Works; the Commissioner-General of the Unitary Police Service; the Director-General of the Macao Customs Service; the Director of the Policy Research and Regional Development Bureau, etc.
The Executive Order states that the Committee may set up several task forces in order to carry out work that comes within the scope of the its duties.
According to today’s Executive Order, the Policy Research and Regional Development Bureau will provide administrative, technical, and logistical support to the Committee. The Committee’s budget will come from the Policy Research and Regional Development Bureau.