Macau and Dili, the capital city of East Timor, have signed a twinning agreement, the local government has announced.
According to a statement by the Macau Government Information Bureau (GCS) yesterday, a memorandum of understanding on setting up the sister-city ties was signed by Macau Special Administrative Region (MSAR) Chief Executive Ho Iat Seng and visiting Minister of State Administration of Timor-Leste Tomas do Rosario Cabral at the MSAR Government Headquarters on Thursday. The signing ceremony was witnessed by Commissioner of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of the People's Republic of China in the MSAR Liu Xianfa as well as a number of local and East Timor officials, including the mayor of Dili, Gregorio da Cunha Saldanha.
Timor-Leste is East Timor's official Portuguese name.
Ho was quoted as saying during the ceremony that Macau and Dili are "vital nodes" on the Maritime Silk Road. Rosario Cabral said the twinning pact symbolised the "singing of a true song of peace, making a valuable contribution to upholding Asian values."
The statement pointed out that Timor-Leste President Jose Ramos-Horta paid his first state visit to China in July this year, during which both sides signed a cooperation agreement on advancing the Belt and Road Initiative (BRI).
According to the statement, Macau and Timor-Leste have enjoyed a history of long and friendly relations. In April this year, the Monetary Authority of Macau (AMCM) and Central Bank of Timor-Leste signed an updated cooperation agreement to further strengthen their partnership, the statement pointed out.
Dili has about 280,000 residents, or about one-fifth of Timor-Leste population of 1.3 million.
Timor-Leste is a member of the Macau-based Forum for Economic and Trade Cooperation between China and Portuguese-speaking Countries (Forum Macao).
Caption: Chief Executive Ho Iat Seng (right) and East Timor's Minister of State Administration Thomas do Rosario Cabral shake hands at the MSAR Government Headquarters after signing a memorandum of understanding on establishing sister-city ties between Macau and Dili on Thursday. - GCS
