Portuguese President Marcelo Rebelo de Sousa bestowed the Grand Cross of the Order of Prince Henry on Macau Chief Executive Ho Iat Seng during a meeting at Belém Palace in Lisbon yesterday, according to Portuguese media reports that have reached Macau today.
The reports pointed out that the decoration honours those who have rendered relevant services, in Portugal or abroad, to promote the Portuguese culture, history and values.
The president also wished Ho a successful reelection bid next year, the reports said, pointing out that Rebelo de Sousa made the remarks before the closed-door meeting began.
Ho thanked Rebelo de Sousa for the remarks and pointed out that this was his first visit to a foreign country after the COVID-19 pandemic. He stressed, the reports said, that despite "many" other possible destinations, his first post-pandemic trip "had to be to Portugal."
Ho and his entourage arrived in Lisbon on Wednesday. The visit is slated to end tomorrow, after which the chief executive will visit Luxembourg to study the grand duchy's bond issuing market. He will also visit Brussels for meetings with Belgian and EU officials. He is scheduled to be back in Macau next Thursday.
Yesterday, Ho separately also met with Portuguese Prime Minister António Costa, Foreign Minister João Gomes Cravinho and Lisbon Mayor Carlos Moedas. He visited an open-air Macau tourism promotion event in downtown Lisbon on Wednesday.
Ho's entourage includes a delegation of about 50 businesspeople from Macau, including top representatives from its six gaming concessionaires-cum-integrated resort operators (SJM, Galaxy, MGM, Sands, Wynn, and Melco), and two of his five policy secretaries, Secretary for Economy and Finance Lei Wai Nong and Secretary for Transport and Public Works Raimundo do Rosário. The business delegation will also visit the northern city of Porto.
Caption: Macau Special Administrative Region (MSAR) Chief Executive Ho Iat Seng (left) shakes hands with Portuguese President Marcelo Rebelo de Sousa at Belém Palace in Lisbon yesterday. Photo courtesy of PRP
