The United Republic of Tanzania has opened an honorary consulate in Macau, and its opening ceremony took place at the Grand Lisboa Palace in Cotai yesterday.
Addressing yesterday’s opening ceremony, Mbelwa Karuiki, ambassador of the United Republic of Tanzania to China, said in a speech that the honorary consulate “is yet another milestone in China’s and Tanzania’s bilateral relations” as it plays an important role in promoting and implementing the cooperation reached by the two countries, especially after the two countries upgraded their bilateral relations into a “comprehensive cooperative strategic partnership”.
Since assuming its new role in the Guangdong-Hong Kong-Macau Greater Bay Area (GBA), Karuiki added, Macau has become a “new economic engine for bilateral and business development” between China and Tanzania.
Karuiki reaffirmed that the honorary consulate will work with Tanzania’s embassy in Beijing to address issues of cooperation between Tanzania’s diaspora of over one million and the business community in Macau.
Tanzania’s Honorary Consul for Macau Maisy Ho Chiu Ha, executive director of Shun Tak Holdings Limited, said in a speech at the ceremony that the importance of infrastructure construction, improving education levels and promoting gender equality that President Samia Suluhu Hassan has emphasised are the future direction of the honorary consulate serving as a “bridge” between China and Tanzania.
“Our goal is to promote trade and investment between Macau and Tanzania, deepen exchange and cooperation in the economic, cultural, tourism, education, and media and publishing area”, Ho said, adding she believed that the opening of the honorary consulate marks a further development in the relationship between China and Tanzania and can create more opportunities for cooperation between Macau and Tanzania as well.
Ho was appointed the southwest African nation’s honorary consul for Macau in November last year.
Yesterday’s opening ceremony was also attended by former chief executive Edmund Ho Hau Wah, who is now a vice-chairman of the National Committee of the Chinese People’s Political Consultative Conference (CPPCC), Deputy Commissioner of the Office of the Commissioner of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of the People’s Republic of China (PRC) in the Macau Special Administrative Region (MSAR) Sun Xiangyang, Minister Plenipotentiary Zainabu Zuberi Massoro, and Tanzania’s former honorary consul for Hong Kong and Macau Annie Wu Suk-ching.
Tanzania, a former German and later British colony, has 61 million inhabitants.
China established diplomatic relations with Tanganyika and Zanzibar on December 9, 1961 and December 11, 1963 respectively. When Tanganyika and Zanzibar were united and became Tanzania on April 26, 1964, China extended its diplomatic ties with Tanzania.
Tanzanian Ambassador Mbelwa Karuiki (second from right), Honorary Consul of the United Republic of Tanzania for Macau Maisy Ho Chiu Ha (third from right), former chief executive Edmund Ho Hau Wah (third from left), who is now a vice-chairman of the National Committee of the Chinese People’s Political Consultative Conference (CPPCC), Deputy Commissioner of the Office of the Commissioner of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of the People’s Republic of China (PRC) in the Macau Special Administrative Region (MSAR) Sun Xiangyang (second from left), Tanzania’s former honorary consul for Hong Kong and Macau Annie Wu Suk-ching (right) and Minister Plenipotentiary Zainabu Zuberi Massoro pose during yesterday’s opening ceremony of the honorary consulate in Macau, at the Grand Lisboa Palace (GLP) in Cotai. – Photo: Yuki Lei
