The Chief Executive, Mr Sam Hou Fai, will on Friday (17 April) lead a delegation comprising officials from the Macao Special Administrative Region (MSAR) Government and representatives from the business sector on an official visit to Portugal and Spain. The MSAR Government delegation will then proceed to Switzerland and Belgium, before returning to Macao on 26 April.
The MSAR Government hopes that this series of visits will further strengthen exchanges and cooperation with Portugal, Spain, the European Union (EU) as a whole, the World Trade Organization (WTO), and other international organisations across multiple fields.
Portugal will be the first overseas destination to be visited by officials of the current-term MSAR Government. In Lisbon, Mr Sam will meet with leading officials of Portugal’s executive, legislative and judicial branches, with an aim of deepening the already solid foundation of Macao-Portugal collaboration. While in Lisbon, the MSAR Government will host a series of events, including a showcase highlighting Macao’s successful practising of the “One country, two systems” principle; business promotion forums; and cultural exchange activities. Mr Sam will also meet with Macao students studying in Portugal.
In Madrid, Spain, Mr Sam will visit relevant Spanish officials to strengthen bilateral ties and expand Macao’s role as a platform for cooperation with Spanish-speaking countries. The MSAR Government will hold tourism promotion events and economic cooperation forums to broaden the source markets for visitors to Macao, and facilitate business-matching activities between the two sides. The Chief Executive is also scheduled to meet with the Secretary-General of the World Tourism Organization, a United Nations agency also known as UN Tourism.
For the first time for such visits, the MSAR Government has brought together representatives from major Chinese-mainland enterprises to travel alongside entrepreneurs from Macao and from the Guangdong-Macao Intensive Cooperation Zone in Hengqin. This “joint voyage” model aims jointly to explore overseas markets, and further enhance Macao’s role as a “precise connector” between China and Portuguese-speaking and Spanish-speaking countries.
On 23 April, the MSAR Government delegation will travel to Geneva, Switzerland, to deepen engagement with international organisations including the WTO. On 24 April, the delegation will visit Brussels, Belgium, the main headquarters of the EU, where Mr Sam will meet with senior Belgian and EU officials to discuss ways to strengthen cooperation.
Members of the MSAR Government delegation due to accompany Mr Sam will include: the Secretary for Social Affairs and Culture, Ms O Lam (who will travel only to Portugal); the Chief-of-Office of the Chief Executive’s Office, Ms Chan Kak; and several bureau-level officials.
During the Chief Executive’s absence from Macao, the Secretary for Administration and Justice, Mr Wong Sio Chak, will assume the duties of Acting Chief Executive.