The two-day Global Legal & Sustainable Timber Forum (GLSTF 2024) kicked off yesterday at MGM Cotai, marking the second consecutive year that the event is being held in Macau.
The forum is themed this year “Together Towards Reliable and Effective Global Timber Supply Chains” and features around 700 guests from 40 countries and regions, according to a Commerce and Investment Promotion Institute (IPIM) statement yesterday.
Organised by the Secretariat of the Global Green Supply Chains Initiative (GGSC) in conjunction with IPIM and the International Tropical Timber Organisation (ITTO), a recent IPIM statement noted that the forum aims to “promote win-win cooperation among all parties and inject new momentum into the sustainable development of the global timber industry”.
Among the guests attending yesterday morning’s opening ceremony were Chief Executive Ho Iat Seng, Director of the Liaison Office of the Central People’s Government in the Macau Special Administrative Region (MSAR), Zheng Xincong, and Acting Commissioner of the Office of the Commissioner of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of the People’s Republic of China in the MSAR Sun Xiangyang.
Delivering a speech at the event, Secretary for Economy and Finance Lei Wai Nong said that the forum is “the first international forestry and timber conference to be introduced in Macau. This event is a significant part of the International Tropical Timber Organisation’s initiatives to promote a legal and sustainable supply chain. Having taken place in Macau for two consecutive years, the forum highlights the international organisations recognition and affirmation of Macau’s exhibition infrastructure and capabilities”.
He added that the local government will “continue to leverage its unique advantages, collaborating with industry stakeholders to attract more market-orientated, professional, and international conference and exhibition projects to Macau, consolidate and enhance Macau’s international image and influence, and make Macau’s ‘Golden Business Card’ as an international metropolis shine brighter.
Concluding today, the forum will feature keynote addresses, panel discussions and sub forums, among others, according to yesterday’s statement, and will also see the launch of several international collaborative research projects.
The forum is also being attended by the forestry ministers from the Central African Republic (CAR), Fiji and the Republic of the Congo (ROC).
More event details can be found on http://www.glstf.net/
Chief Executive Ho Iat Seng (front, 11th from left) and Secretary for Economy and Finance Lei Wai Nong (front, 14th from left) pose with other officiating guests during yesterday’s opening ceremony for the Global Legal & Sustainable Timber Forum (GLSTF 2024) at MGM Cotai. – Photo: GCS
