Chief Executive Ho Iat Seng made a speech via video link for yesterday’s opening ceremony of the 3rd Guangdong-Hong Kong-Macao Greater Bay Area Fair for Trade in Services, which is being held in Zhuhai, pledging Macau’s continuous commitment to serving the ongoing development of the Guangdong-Hong Kong-Macau Greater Bay Area (GBA), according to a statement by the Macau Government Information Bureau (GCS).
The two-day fair, which ends today, is being held at Zhuhai International Convention and Exhibition Centre.
The GBA fair for trade in services (BAFTIS) was first held in Zhuhai in December 2022, while the second fair was held in Zhuhai in December last year.
Last year was the first time that the fair was held as a multi-venue event, in Zhuhai, Hong Kong and Macau, with Zhuhai as the main exhibition venue, while Hong Kong and Macau set up their respective supplementary exhibition venues.
Just like last year, the fair is a multi-venue event, with Zhuhai International Convention and Exhibition Centre as the fair’s main exhibition venue, which opened yesterday and ends today, while this year’s fair in Macau as a supplementary exhibition venue was held on October 17 at the Venetian Macao’s Cotai Expo, as part of the four-day 29th Macao International Trade and Investment Fair (MIF).
This year’s BAFTIS in Hong Kong as a supplementary exhibition venue was held on October 16 at Hong Kong Convention and Exhibition Centre (HKCEC), as part of the four-day Hong Kong Electronics Fair.
Jointly steered by the Guangdong Provincial People’s Government, the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region (HKSAR) Government, and the Macau Special Administrative Region (MSAR) Government, the BAFTIS is jointly organised by Guangdong’s Department of Commerce, the Zhuhai Municipal People’s Government, Hong Kong’s Commerce and Economic Development Bureau (CEDB), and Macau’s Commerce and Investment Promotion Institute (IPIM).
In his video speech yesterday morning, according to the GCS statement, Ho underlined that by marking this year’s 75th Anniversary of the founding of the People’s Republic of China (PRC) on October 1 and 25th Anniversary of the establishment of the MSAR on December 20, Macau will further grasp the opportunities created by the ongoing development of the GBA and the Guangdong-Macau In-depth Cooperation Zone in Hengqin.
Adhering to its three positions as “One Centre, One Platform, One Base”, Ho pledged that Macau will continue to actively integrate its development into the nation’s overall development, to develop new quality productive forces in collaboration with various segments of Macau’s civil society, and to actively serve the ongoing GBA development, with the aim of continuously enhancing Macau’s status and function in contributing to the nation’s economic development and opening up and of better serving the nation’s high-level opening up and high-quality development.
The Macau government’s “One Centre, One Platform, One Base” concept refers to Macau developing itself into a World Centre of Tourism and Leisure, a commercial and trade cooperation service platform between China and Portuguese-speaking countries, and an exchange and cooperation base with Chinese culture as its mainstream and co-existence of different cultures.
According to the GCS statement, Ho noted that this year’s BAFTIS is placing special emphasis on digital trade in services, with the aim of establishing a platform for digital communication, exhibitions, and connection of different resources, thereby promoting the convergence of regulations in the GBA for its high-level opening up, innovations in trade in services, and the GBA’s strengthened connection with high-standard international trade regulations.
Ho also noted that this year’s BAFTIS continues to be a multi-venue event with its supplementary exhibition venue in Macau held a fortnight ago together with the 29th Macao International Trade and Investment Fair (MIF), adding that this arrangement can further deepen the Guangdong-Macau cooperation by leveraging the synergy effect created by the two regions’ respective branded exhibitions.
Ho also underlined that over the past five years after the GBA Outline Development Plan was published in 2019, the GBA has made significant achievements in its development.
Meanwhile, an IPIM statement said that the Macau government’s Commerce and Investment Promotion Institute has set up a 90-square-metre Macau Pavilion at the BAFTIS’s main exhibition venue in Zhuhai, promoting Macau’s business environment and investment opportunities.
This handout photo released by the Macau Government Information Bureau (GCS) yesterday shows Chief Executive Ho Iat Seng addressing yesterday’s opening ceremony of the 3rd Guangdong-Hong Kong-Macao Greater Bay Area Fair for Trade in Services in Zhuhai via video link.
Representatives from Macau including Commerce and Investment Promotion Institute (IPIM) President Vincent U U Sang (centre, front) pose for photos in front of the Macau Pavilion at the 3rd Guangdong-Hong Kong-Macao Greater Bay Area Fair for Trade in Services in Zhuhai yesterday. – Photo: IPIM
