The Chief Executive, Mr Chui Sai On, will visit Changsha Prefecture in Hunan Province from 24 to 25 September, for the 2017 Pan-Pearl River Delta Regional Cooperation Chief Executive Joint Conference.
The Joint Conference will be held on Monday morning. While in Changsha, Mr Chui will have meetings with provincial and prefectural leaders from the region, to discuss issues of mutual interest.
Members of the Government delegation will include: the Secretary for Economy and Finance, Mr Leong Vai Tac; the Director-General of the Macao Customs Service, Mr Wong Iao Lek; the Chief-of-Office of the Chief Executive’s Office, Ms O Lam; the Director of the Government Information Bureau, Mr Chan Chi Ping; the Director of the Protocol, Public Relations and External Affairs Office, Ms Lei Ut Mui; and the Director of the Macao Government Tourism Office, Ms Maria Helena de Senna Fernandes.
While Mr Chui is in Changsha, the Secretary for Transport and Public Works, Mr Raimundo do Rosário, and the Secretary for Social Affairs and Culture, Mr Tam Chon Weng, will successively take the role of Acting Chief Executive.
The Joint Conference is a platform – launched in 2004 – for regional cooperation between the nine provinces and two Special Administrative Regions (SARs) – collectively known as the “9+2” – that are located in the Pan-Pearl River Delta (PPRD) region. They are: Fujian; Jiangxi; Hunan; Guangdong; Guangxi; Hainan; Sichuan; Guizhou; Yunnan; the Hong Kong SAR; and the Macao SAR.
The meeting will review the progress of work first implemented in 2016 and will also outline this year’s priorities. The meeting is to include discussions covering four objectives:
1) making better connection between the facilities available in the region, so as to advance the development of the Silk Road Economic Belt and the 21st-Century Maritime Silk Road (collectively known as the “Belt and Road” initiative);
2) acceleration of development relating to thecity cluster in the Guangdong-Hong Kong-Macao Greater Bay Area;
3) enhancement of cooperation regarding innovation and technology, encouraging further sectorial integration; and
4) pushing forward the formation of a coordination mechanism for the protection of maritime ecology.