Chief Executive Edmund Ho today (14 September) met with German Federal Chancellor Gerhard Schroder, who expressed interest in the possible inclusion of Macao into his China visit next year. On the second day of his visit in Germany, Mr. Ho arrived in Berlin to meet with the German Chancellor Gerhard Schroder and the Foreign and Security Policy Adviser to the Federal Chancellor Bernd Mutzelburg. Mr. Ho told the press after the meetings that he was “thrilled” by the Chancellor Schrolder’s interest to visit Macao next year. Mr. Ho also said that he had discussed with Mr. Mutzelburg about cooperation between Macao and Germany in different levels, such as launching a series of co-operation programme in the future; Macao’s role as a platform for German small and medium-size enterprises to enter the Pan-Pearl river delta market which had a collective population of 400 million and to use Macao as a “showcase” for German technology and science such as environmental-protection technology. Mr. Ho also paid a courtesy call on the German foreign ministry’s state secretary, Jurgen Chrobog, and attended a banquet hosted by China’s ambassador in Germany, Ma Canrong. Tomorrow, Mr. Ho and the delegation will meet with the State Secretary of the Ministry of Economics and Labour, Dr. Alfred Tacke.
