The Chief Executive, Mr Sam Hou Fai, cordially shakes hands with Vice-President of the European Parliament, Mr Younous Omarjee, during a meeting in Brussels, Belgium.
The Chief Executive, Mr Sam Hou Fai, met with Vice-President of the European Parliament, Mr Younous Omarjee. They exchanged views on topics such as further consolidating and expanding the economic and trade partnership between Macao and the European Union (EU), stepping up the promotion of people-to-people and cultural exchanges between the two sides, and better leveraging Macao’s platform advantages to assist in the development of China-EU relations.
The meeting was held in Brussels, Belgium on Saturday (25 April) morning local time. Mr Sam had arrived in Brussels on Friday (24 April) after visits to Geneva, Switzerland; Madrid, Spain; and Lisbon, Portugal.
Mr Sam briefed Vice-President Omarjee on Macao’s achievements through the successful practising of the “One country, two systems” principle, including the city’s social harmony and stability, continuous economic development, and the ongoing improvement of people's livelihoods, as well as the active development of external affairs and the deepening of external cooperation.
Mr Sam said he hoped his visit would enhance the European Parliament's comprehensive understanding of the “One country, two systems” principle, helping China and the EU to continue their traditional friendship and further develop their friendly relations.
The Macao Special Administrative Region (MSAR) Government is comprehensively implementing the spirit of President Xi Jinping’s important speeches and instructions, the Chief Executive noted. Guided by Macao’s positioning as "One Centre, One Platform, and One Base", the MSAR Government is continuously developing various undertakings, focusing on promoting appropriate economic diversification, and systematically advancing the construction of four major projects.
All of these bring further opportunities for deepening cooperation between Macao and the EU, said Mr Sam. The MSAR Government particularly hopes to strengthen alignment with the EU in fields such as innovation and technology development, green industries, and industry-academia-research collaboration, thereby assisting China-EU relations for achievement of mutual benefit and win-win results within the broader context of China’s high-level opening up.
The MSAR Government attaches great importance to its long-term friendly relations with the EU, said the Chief Executive. In 1992, Macao and the European Economic Community signed a trade and cooperation agreement. Since then, the two sides have established a very close trade partnership, and Macao expects to consolidate and continuously develop its friendly relations with the EU. Mr Sam also said he hoped to receive the support of the European Parliament regarding the resumption of the EU-Macao Joint Committee meeting mechanism.
Mr Sam stressed that the MSAR Government will continue to leverage fully Macao's role as a platform, combining the development opportunities of the Guangdong-Macao Intensive Cooperation Zone in Hengqin, further to deepen mutually-beneficial cooperation between Macao and the EU in areas such as trade and economic affairs, tourism, and cultural exchanges.
Mr Omarjee welcomed the Chief Executive and his delegation. He stated that Macao’s history and special status help promote strengthened dialogue and understanding between China and the EU. The MSAR possesses the advantage of the “One country, two systems” principle, as well as that of its highly-effective role as a service platform for Chinese-Portuguese cooperation. The MSAR Government is actively expanding this relevant platform, and Mr Omarjee hoped that China-EU relations could be further developed through the Macao platform.
Mr Omarjee said that Macao can make use of its unique cultural characteristics in order to promote in-depth exchanges with European countries in the fields of culture and the arts, mutually learning from successful experiences, benefiting from each other's strengths, and jointly creating more compelling cultural and artistic offerings further to enhance Macao’s tourism competitiveness.
In addition, EU countries and Macao can strengthen alignment and cooperation in innovation, green development, transport and logistics, exhibition and convention services, and finance. Each side can – by grasping the development potential and advantages of the other – bring complementary benefits to a higher level and jointly achieve development, said Mr Omarjee.
Other officials attending the Saturday meeting included: the Head of the Chinese Mission to the EU and Ambassador Extraordinary and Plenipotentiary, Mr Cai Run; the Chief-of-Office of the Chief Executive's Office, Ms Chan Kak; and the Director of the Macao Economic and Trade Office to the European Union in Brussels, Ms Lúcia Abrantes dos Santos.
