Chief Executive Ho Iat Seng met a delegation of G19 lawmakers from Hong Kong on Saturday and expressed willingness to intensify communication and cooperation with Hong Kong in various areas, including promoting travel groups linking Hong Kong and Macau to the Greater Bay Area (GBA), jointly organising sporting activities and entertainment events as well as exhibitions and conventions, and promoting cooperation in innovative technology, higher education and youth training.
According to a statement by the Government Information Bureau (GCS),
Ho underlined that Macau and Hong Kong are “sister cities”.
G19 is a cooperation platform formed by a group of lawmakers after the 2021 Hong Kong Legislative Council election, whose members comprise nine functional constituency lawmakers and nine constituency lawmakers of the Election Commission, according to the group’s official website.
According to the statement, the coordinator of the G19 lawmakers, Tse Wai-chuen, said that Macau was chosen to be the group’s first visit outside Hong Kong because it has a “stable society” and a “prosperous economy”, achieving an excellent result in terms of national security and integration into national development, adding he believed that Hong Kong could take Macau’s experience as a reference in various aspects, the statement said.
Tse also said he hoped that the visit could deepen mutual understanding and cooperation between Hong Kong and Macau, and jointly promote the high-quality development of the two special administrative regions (SARs) and the Greater Bay Area (GBA), integrating into the national development, according to the statement.
During the meeting held on Saturday at Government Headquarters, Ho provided an overview of the city’s development plans, with a focus on the “1+4” development strategy aiming for appropriate economic diversification by promoting four main industries – big health, modern finance, high-tech, conventions and exhibitions, as well as culture and sport, according to the statement.
The meeting also highlighted the joint development of the Guangdong-Macau In-depth Cooperation Zone in Hengqin, along with issues related to Macau-Hong Kong cooperation in the simplification of cross-border transport and human resources development.
Chief Executive Ho Iat Seng (centre, front) poses with members of the Hong Kong G19 lawmakers’ delegation on Saturday at Government Headquarters. – Photo by GCS
