Macao Chief Executive Ho Iat Seng and Portugal’s Minister of Economy Pedro Reis met at Government Headquarters to discuss mutual cooperation initiatives, with a special focus on the health sector, the local government says.
Ho briefed Reis on Macao’s economic diversification strategy and emphasised opportunities he saw for Portuguese medical companies in the SAR’s emerging health sector, which recently welcomed a brand new hospital.
“With Portugal’s strong foundation in biomedicine, relevant enterprises could use the bridgehead of Macao and Hengqin to enter the Chinese mainland market,” he noted.
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Reis, in turn, promised to encourage more Portuguese enterprises to expand their businesses into Macao for the benefit of both territories. He also said that Portugal looked forward to helping develop Macao’s finance sector, another priority area for the SAR government.
Ho and Reis both referred to the long history and friendship between Macao and Portugal during their meeting. Reis thanked the local government for its efforts in promoting Portuguese culture and language.
The two top officials met in advance of Forum Macao’s 6th Ministerial Conference. The three-day event brings leaders from China and nine Portuguese-speaking countries (PSCs) together to progress Sino-Lusophone trade and development initiatives.
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Delegates from Forum Macao’s member countries gathered on Saturday evening for a formal dinner welcoming them to the organisation’s 6th Ministerial Conference, which officially kicked off on Sunday.
In an address to the gathering, China’s Minister of Commerce Wang Wentao quoted a proverb on the nature of partnership – “a partnership forged with the right approach defies geographical distance” – and said that Forum Macao was “centred on peace and development, and adhered to the spirit of partnership that values harmony in diversity.”
He added that the Ministry of Commerce would continue to support Macao as a Sino-Lusophone platform, “deepening exchanges and cooperation with the participating countries and regions.”
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Macao’s Chief Executive Ho Iat Seng also addressed the delegates, noting that Forum Macao was strengthening international ties as the global economy faced “profound changes”.
Some 850 people attended the welcome dinner, which was held at the International Convention Centre of the Macao East Asian Games Dome.
Guests included the Vice Chairman of the Standing Committee of the National People’s Congress Li Hongzhong, and representatives of all of the Portuguese-speaking countries (Brazil, Angola, Mozambique, Portugal, Guinea-Bissau, Equatorial Guinea, Timor-Leste, Cabo Verde, and São Tomé and Príncipe).
