The government has set up a new committee to coordinate Macau’s ongoing effort to achieve further integration with the national development drive, according to Executive Order No 67/2021 published in the Official Gazette (BO) yesterday.
According to the a statement by the Macau Government Information Bureau (GCS), the new Working Committee for Integration into National Development will be tasked with coordinating work for the overall strategy – in the short-, medium-, and long-term – regarding Macau’s participation in – and contribution to – the country’s Belt and Road Initiative (BRI), and the Guangdong-Hong Kong-Macau Greater Bay Area (GBA). The Committee will also conduct research to help draft policies related to the effort.
The committee’s responsibilities also include the conduct of research for advancing Macau’s positioning as, respectively, a world centre of tourism and leisure; a commercial and trade cooperation service platform between China and Portuguese-speaking countries; and as a multicultural exchange and cooperation base with special emphasis on Chinese culture (collectively known as the centre, platform, and base policies). The committee’s effort will contribute to policy formulation and the implementation of relevant strategies and measures, the statement underlined.
The new committee will be chaired by the chief executive. Other members will include the secretary for Administration and Justice; the secretary for Economy and Finance; the secretary for Social Affairs and Culture; the secretary for Security; the secretary for Transport and Public Works; the commissioner-general of the Unitary Police Service; the director-general of the Macau Customs Service; and the director of the Policy Research and Regional Development Bureau.
The Executive Order states that the committee may set up several task forces in order to carry out work that comes within the scope of its duties.
According to yesterday’s Executive Order, the Policy Research and Regional Development Bureau will provide administrative, technical, and logistical support to the Committee. The committee’s budget will come from the bureau.
