Macau Special Administrative Region (MSAR) Chief Executive Sam Hou Fai returned to Macau yesterday afternoon from his nine-day, four-nation European working tour, after which the Macau Government Information Bureau (GCS) said in a statement that Sam’s first overseas trip in his capacity as the MSAR’s chief executive has achieved “fruitful” results, comprising three main aspects, namely telling the global community the good story of the implementation of the “One Country, Two Systems” principle in Macau; “precisely” promoting business opportunities in Macau and Hengqin to Europe; and expanding the scope for Macau’s external cooperation.
The statement also underlined that the delegation’s visit led by Sam has also showcased the MSAR government’s determination to expand into Spanish-speaking markets.
Sam led a delegation comprising local officials and representatives from the business sector on his working visit to Portugal’s Lisbon and Spain’s Madrid. Afterwards, the government delegation proceeded to Switzerland’s Geneva and Belgium’s Brussels before arriving back in Macau yesterday afternoon.
Sam arrived in Lisbon on April 18 (local time), before departing for Madrid on Tuesday last week. He travelled to Geneva on Thursday last week, before proceeding to Brussels the next day.
Sam’s trip featured “a rich itinerary that achieved fruitful results and met its intended goals”, yesterday’s GCS statement said.
During the nine-day visit, the statement said, 46 events of various types were held, including high-level meetings, economic and trade cooperation promotion sessions, tourism promotion events, cultural and educational exchanges, and an exhibition showcasing the achievements of Macau’s successful implementation of the “One Country, Two Systems” principle since its return to the motherland.
The MSAR was established on December 20, 1999, marking Macau’s return to the motherland and the end of Portugal’s temporary administration of the city.
The statement also said that over 100 cooperation agreements were signed at both governmental and corporate levels, reaching consensus on future areas of cooperation and related projects.
The tour, the statement said, comprehensively demonstrated to the international community the significant achievements of Macau’s successful implementation of the “One Country, Two Systems” principle, and enhanced mutual trust and the level of cooperation with the relevant countries, contributing to the nation’s high-level opening-up.
At the same time, the statement said, positive results were achieved in promoting development opportunities in Macau and Hengqin, strengthening external exchanges and cooperation, and assisting enterprises from the Chinese mainland and Macau in jointly exploring Portuguese-speaking, Spanish-speaking and European markets.
Lisbon
In Lisbon, the statement noted, Sam separately met with President António José Seguro, Prime Minister Luís Montenegro, President of the Supreme Court of Justice João Cura Mariano, and President of the Assembly of the Republic José Pedro Aguiar-Branco, as well as three ministers. The two sides, the statement said, engaged in comprehensive and in-depth exchanges, continuing the traditional friendship between Macau and Portugal and elevating exchanges and cooperation across multiple fields to a new level. The Portuguese leaders and officials acknowledged and positively appraised the significant achievements Macau has made in implementing the “One Country, Two Systems” principle, the statement said.
Madrid
In Madrid, the statement said, Sam established new connections and enhanced bilateral cooperation in areas such as trade and tourism, while also exploring the possibility of extending Macau’s role as a China-Portuguese-speaking countries’ platform into the Spanish-speaking world.
The MSAR delegation’s visits to Portugal and Spain, the statement underlined, further consolidated Macau’s role as a “precise connector” between China and Portuguese-speaking countries, contributing to strengthening friendly and cooperative relations between China and Portuguese-speaking countries, Spanish-speaking countries, and the European Union (EU).
Geneva
While in Geneva, the statement noted, Sam separately met with World Trade Organisation (WTO) Director-General Ngozi Okonjo-Iweala, Permanent Representative of China to the WTO Li Yongjie, and Permanent Representative of China to the United Nations Office at Geneva and other International Organisations in Switzerland Jia Guide. These meetings, the statement said, deepened liaison mechanisms, strengthened platform alignment, and enhanced international organisations’ understanding of Macau’s platform functions. The visit to Geneva also strengthened the functions of the Macao Economic and Trade Office to the WTO, injecting new momentum for the MSAR government to more vigorously participate in international affairs such as multilateral trade.
Brussels
In Brussels, the statement noted, Sam paid a courtesy call on Belgian Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of Employment, Economy and Agriculture David Clarinval, while meeting with Chinese Ambassador to Belgium Fei Shengchao, apart from meeting representatives of the Chinese community in the country. By strengthening mutual ties and alignment, the statement said, the meetings deepened economic and trade exchanges between Macau and Belgium, while expanding fields for bilateral exchanges and cooperation.
EU headquarters
At the EU headquarters in Brussels, the statement noted, Sam separately met with Olof Skoog, deputy secretary general for Political Affairs of the EU’s European External Action Service, Cai Run, head of the Chinese Mission to the EU, and Younous Omarjee, a vice-president of the European Parliament. The meetings, the statement said, helped consolidate and develop the trade partnership between Macau and the EU, with pledges to expand cooperative relations in areas such as innovative technology, green technology, higher education, and cultural and tourism industries.
The statement noted that Sam also visited the Macao Economic and Trade Office to the European Union, encouraging all staff to work together to assist the MSAR government in further strengthening its ties and cooperation with the EU.
‘Significant results in 3 main aspects’
The statement said that Sam’s tour has achieved significant results in three main aspects.
The first aspect is telling the global community the good story of the implementation of the “One Country, Two Systems” principle in Macau and highlighting its significant advantages and strong vitality.
Through an exhibition held in Lisbon, and in-depth exchanges with national leaders and senior officials during the four-nation European tour, the successful implementation of the “One Country, Two Systems” principle in Macau and its remarkable achievements were comprehensively showcased to the international community, the statement said.
The statement said that the tour further enhanced the international community’s understanding and recognition of the institutional advantages of the “One Country, Two Systems” principle, highlighting Macau’s unique role and historical responsibility in the nation’s overall development. The tour laid a more solid foundation for Macau to play a more active role in the nation’s high-level opening-up.
The second aspect is “precisely” promoting business opportunities in Macau and Hengqin to Europe; and expanding the scope for Macau’s external cooperation.
The MSAR government organised a delegation of about 120 entrepreneurs to join the tour, comprising enterprise representatives from Macau, Hengqin, and various other places in the Chinese mainland, demonstrating the innovative model of synergistic development of “Macau + Chinese mainland + International Market” to jointly explore a broader market scope.
During the tour, the MSAR government delegation, together with the entrepreneurs, met senior officials from Portugal and Spain, establishing mutual connections and building platforms for cooperation.
In addition, a large-scale tourism promotion event was held in Madrid, and Sam engaged in in-depth exchanges with the secretary-general of the United Nations World Tourism Organisation, Shaikha Al Nuwais. This was conducive to promoting high-quality tourism cooperation and establishing a robust platform for the tourism industry to strengthen exchanges.
The third aspect is expanding the scope for Macau’s external cooperation and contributing to the nation’s high-level opening-up.
During the tour, Sam attended intangible cultural heritage performances to enhance Macau-Portugal cultural exchanges; met and interacted with Macau students studying in Portugal, encouraging the young people to study diligently and promote China-Portugal friendship; and met government officials and representatives of international organisations across multiple fields. This further broadened the MSAR’s multifaceted exchanges and cooperation with relevant countries and international organisations.
This overseas tour was a practical move in building Macau into a crucial bridgehead for the country’s high-level opening-up, and a vital window for exchange and mutual learning between Chinese and Western civilisations. It tangibly reflected Macau’s determination to better leverage its unique advantage of being backed by the motherland and connected to the world and making greater contributions to the country’s high-level opening-up.
This just-concluded tour marked the first time an MSAR chief executive visited Spain and Geneva. This overseas tour was not only an important milestone in the MSAR government’s commitment to expanding external exchanges and cooperation, but also highlighted the strategic direction of the current-term MSAR government to extend the Macau platform and actively participate in international multilateral cooperation.
Macau Chief Executive Sam Hou Fai dots the eyes of the lion during the “Macao Night” event, the closing ceremony of the “Experience Macao Roadshow in Madrid”, on Tuesday last week (local time). The roadshow aiming to promote Macau’s tourism, held in Madrid between April 17 and 21, was jointly organised by the MSAR government and the Chinese Embassy in Spain. – Photo: GCS
