The Chief Executive, Mr Sam Hou Fai, holds a press conference at the Macao checkpoint of the Hong Kong-Zhuhai-Macao Bridge, prior to his departure from Macao for a visit to Portugal, Spain, Switzerland and Belgium.
The Chief Executive, Mr Sam Hou Fai, said his upcoming four-nation European tour – marking the first official overseas visit by members of the current-term Macao Special Administrative Region (MSAR) Government – aimed comprehensively to showcase to the international community the successful practising of the “One country, two systems” principle in Macao, promote the development opportunities in Macao and Hengqin, and further deepen pragmatic external cooperation across multiple fields.
Mr Sam is leading a delegation comprising MSAR Government officials and entrepreneurs. The delegation will initially visit Lisbon, Portugal, and Madrid, Spain. Subsequently, the Government delegation will proceed to Geneva, Switzerland, and Brussels, Belgium, including the main headquarters of the European Union, before returning to Macao on 26 April.
Mr Sam made the remarks regarding the tour on Friday evening (17 April), at a briefing for the press prior to his departure from Macao at the Macao checkpoint of the Hong Kong-Zhuhai-Macao Bridge. He told reporters that the tour is a significant action by the MSAR Government to implement the spirit of President Xi Jinping’s important speeches and instructions made during his inspection of Macao in December 2024. Mr Sam expressed the hope of fully leveraging Macao’s unique advantage of “relying on the motherland while connecting to the world”, and its role as a vital bridgehead for the nation’s opening up.
By adopting an approach of “government-enterprise synerg”", the visit aims further to deepen pragmatic cooperation with the relevant European countries in areas such as economics and trade, tourism, culture, and technology, he added.
He mentioned that the MSAR Government has organised a delegation of approximately 120 entrepreneurs to visit Portugal and Spain. The members include representatives of outstanding enterprises from Macao, Hengqin, and provinces and municipalities on the Chinese mainland. Adopting this “shared voyage” approach for collaborative overseas expansion – with the aim jointly to explore overseas markets – is a first-time endeavour for the MSAR Government, which has received strong support from the Hong Kong and Macao Affairs Office of the State Council.
The itinerary of this overseas visit has a full timetable and is rich in content, Mr Sam stated. Selecting Portugal as the first stop, fully demonstrates the importance Macao attaches to continuing the profound friendship between China and Portugal. During the visit, the Chief Executive will respectively call on the President of Portugal, the President of the Assembly of the Republic, the Prime Minister, the President of the Supreme Court of Justice, the Minister of State and Foreign Affairs, the Minister of Economy and Territorial Cohesion, and the Minister of Justice, among other senior Portuguese officials. They will exchange in-depth views on deepening friendly relations between Macao and Portugal, and on promoting comprehensive bilateral cooperation. The visit will represent the largest number and widest range of Portuguese political dignitaries ever to be met by any MSAR Government delegation to Portugal.
In Madrid, Mr Sam will call on the Second Deputy Prime Minister of Spain, as well as the Minister for Foreign Affairs, European Union and Cooperation, among other officials, to strengthen bilateral exchanges and cooperation and explore jointly expanding into markets in other Spanish-speaking countries. The Chief Executive stated that Macao and Spain are both world-class tourism destinations, sharing vast room for cooperation in the tourism sector. The accompanying delegation of entrepreneurs will also seek business opportunities through economic and trade promotional seminars and other avenues.
In Geneva, Mr Sam will meet with a Deputy Director-General of the World Trade Organization (WTO) to exchange views on further strengthening cooperation between Macao and the WTO. In Brussels, he will call on Belgium’s Deputy Prime Minister and Minister for Employment, Economy and Agriculture, and visit the European Union main headquarters to meet with senior officials from the European Parliament and the European External Action Service, to reinforce mutual ties.
The MSAR Government will take this visit as an opportunity to deepen external exchanges and cooperation, strengthen internal and external connectivity, and expand new space for development. This will continuously inject new momentum into Macao's appropriate economic diversification, and assist in the nation's high-level opening up, said Mr Sam.
