Chief Executive Sam Hou Fai will depart tonight leading a delegation comprising officials from the Macau Special Administrative Region (MSAR) Government and representatives from the business sector on an official visit to Portugal and Spain, the Macau Government Information Bureau (GCS) reconfirmed yesterday.
The MSAR Government delegation will then proceed to Geneva in Switzerland and Brussels in Belgium, before returning to Macau next Sunday, according to the statement.
The statement underlined that the local government hopes that this series of visits will further strengthen exchanges and cooperation with Portugal, Spain, the European Union (EU) as a whole, the Geneva-based World Trade Organisation (WTO), and other international organisations across multiple fields.
The 27-member EU is headquartered in the Belgian capital Brussels.
Portugal will be the first overseas destination to be visited by officials of the current-term MSAR Government, the statement pointed out. In Lisbon, Sam will meet with leading officials of Portugal’s executive, legislative and judicial branches, with the aim of deepening the already solid foundation of Macau-Portugal collaboration.
While in Lisbon, the MSAR Government will host a series of events, including a showcase highlighting Macau’s successful practice of the “One Country, Two Systems” principle; business promotion forums; and cultural exchange activities, the statement noted, adding that Sam will also meet with Macau students studying in Portugal.
In the Spanish capital Madrid, Sam will meet with Spanish officials to strengthen bilateral ties and expand Macau’s role as a platform for cooperation with Spanish-speaking countries, the statement said.
In Madrid, the MSAR Government will hold tourism promotion events and economic cooperation forums to broaden the source markets for visitors to Macau, and facilitate business-matching activities between the two sides, the statement said, adding that Sam is also scheduled to meet with the Secretary-General of the World Tourism Organisation, a United Nations agency also known as UN Tourism. The 160-member organisation is headed by Shaikha Al Nowais of the United Arab Emirates (UAE).
For the first time for such overseas visits, the MSAR Government has brought together representatives from major Chinese-mainland enterprises to travel alongside businesspeople from Macau and from the Guangdong-Macao Intensive Cooperation Zone in Hengqin, the statement pointed out. This “joint trip” model aims to explore overseas markets together, and further enhance Macau’s role as a “precision connector” between China and Portuguese-speaking and Spanish-speaking countries, the statement said.
Next Thursday, the MSAR Government delegation will travel to Geneva in Switzerland, to deepen engagement with international organisations including the WTO. Next Friday, the delegation will visit Brussels, where Sam will meet with senior Belgian and EU officials to discuss ways to strengthen cooperation.
Members of the MSAR Government delegation include Secretary for Social Affairs and Culture Wallis O Lam (who will travel only to Portugal), the Chief-of-Office of the Chief Executive’s Office, Chan Kak, as well as several bureau-level officials, the statement noted.
During Sam’s absence from Macau, Secretary for Administration and Justice Wong Sio Chak will assume the duties of acting chief executive.
Cars drive past Belém Palace in Lisbon on January 26, 2017, the official residence of the Portuguese president. MSAR Chief Executive is slated to meet President António José Seguro at the palace on the outskirts of Lisbon during his official four-nation tour of Europe. – Photo courtesy of Dguendel/Wikipedia
