Chief Executive Ho Iat Seng signed yesterday a twinning agreement between the Macau Special Administrative Region (MSAR) and Água Grande, a district in the Atlantic island nation of São Tomé and Príncipe (STP), the Macau Government Information Bureau (GCS) said in a statement.
The statement quoted Ho as saying that the accord would help seize fresh opportunities arising from the Belt and Road Initiative (BRI), by giving better play to the respective advantages of the two places, adding that both sides would continue to liaise closely to increase mutual understanding, so as to intensify reciprocal benefits and create brighter prospects for joint development.
Ho made the remarks during an online ceremony at Macau Government Headquarters to mark the signing of the twinning agreement.
The agreement was signed by Ho and Água Grande District President José Maria Fonseca. Several officials from the Democratic Republic of São Tomé and Príncipe and the People’s Republic of China (PRC) attended the virtual meeting including Macau-based Foreign Ministry Commissioner Liu Xianfa.
Addressing the signing ceremony, Ho said that over the six years after the resumption of diplomatic relations between the two countries, fruitful results have been achieved in several areas. Ho underlined President Xi Jinping’s remarks that the relationship between China and São Tomé and Príncipe should be set as a paradigm for cooperation between a large country and a small country, as well as for south-south cooperation.
Fonseca was quoted as saying that the signing of the memorandum would further strengthen the amicable ties between the two sides. He also said that his district would create beneficial conditions for partnerships with Macau to solidify.
São Tomé and Príncipe (“Saint Thomas and Prince”) has about 220,000 inhabitants, around 40 percent of who live in Água Grande (“Large Water”). The two-island country, which gained independence from Portugal in 1975, is a member of the Macau-based Forum for Economic and Trade Cooperation between China and Portuguese-speaking Countries. High-quality chocolate is one of the country’s best-known export items.
Chief Executive Ho Iat Seng (centre) and Macau-based Foreign Ministry Commissioner Liu Xianfa attend yesterday’s virtual ceremony marking the signing of a twinning agreement between the Macau SAR and the Democratic Republic of São Tomé and Príncipe (STP) at the Macau Government Headquarters in Nam Van. Photo: GCS
