Chief Executive Fernando Chui Sai On departs for official visits to Cambodia and Thailand today, the Government Spokesperson’s Office (GPV) said in a statement yesterday. His entourage will return to Macau on Friday.
According to the statement, the trip to the two kingdoms – which are covered by the nation’s Belt and Road Initiative (BRI) – aims to reinforce mutual cooperation and exchanges in fields such as tourism, economic development and trade matters.
The trip is also designed to foster Macau’s “unique bridging functions” and to advance the city’s contributions to the BRI scheme under the principle of “serving the nation’s needs, delivering Macau’s strengths”, the statement said.
Members of Chui’s entourage include Secretary for Administration and Justice Sonia Chan Hoi Fan, Secretary for Economy and Finance Lionel Leong Vai Tac, Secretary for Social Affairs and Culture Alexis Tam Chon Weng and all the members of the Executive Council – the government’s top advisory body. In addition, his entourage also includes a youth delegation and representatives of the city’s returned overseas Chinese communities, according to the statement.
During the five-day visit, the Macau government’s delegation will visit Phnom Penh and Bangkok. The delegation will hold meetings with senior officials from the two countries and attend activities there hosted by the Macau government, the statement said.
While in Phnom Penh, in addition to meeting leaders of the Cambodian government and members of the country’s National Assembly and its Senate – the lower house and upper house of the country’s parliament, Chui will also attend a presentation about Macau’s tourism and investment environment, according to the statement.
While in the Thai capital, in addition to meeting senior officials of the Thai government, Chui will witness the signing of a memorandum of understanding (MoU) on a twin city arrangement between Phuket and Macau, the statement said.
Chui’s entourage will also attend a presentation, hosted by the Macau government, on economic and trade ties between the two places as well as on the development of tourism in Thailand and Macau.
Thailand is one of local people’s most popular tourist destinations.
Macau recorded 198,222 Thai visitor arrivals last year, year-on-year decline of 16.1 percent, 54.2 percent of them same-day visitors, according to the Statistics and Census Bureau (DSEC). Package tour members accounted for 58.5 percent of all Thai visitor arrivals last year. A total of 69,533 Thai visitors stayed in hotels and guesthouses during their stay in Macau in 2017.
Secretary for Security Wong Sio Chak is the acting chief executive while Chui is on the two-nation trip, the statement said.
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