The Chief Executive, Mr Ho Iat Seng, met with the Minister of Economy of the Portuguese Republic, Mr Pedro Reis, to exchange views on: promoting economic and trade cooperation; attracting more Portuguese enterprises and talented individuals to contribute to the development of Macao; and ways to take advantage of Macao’s platform function.
At the meeting on Saturday (20 April) at the Government Headquarters, the Chief Executive welcomed Mr Reis and his delegation in advance of their attendance at the 6th Ministerial Conference of the Forum for Economic and Trade Co-operation between China and Portuguese-speaking Countries (Macao), the latter a body known as Forum Macao. The Ministerial Conference is from today until Tuesday (23 April).
Mr Ho noted China and Portugal had a long-standing friendship, and added that Macao had deep connections with Portugal. As a platform, Macao had facilitated Portugal's access to the vast mainland China market, including the Guangdong-Hong Kong-Macao Greater Bay Area. During the visit of a delegation of the Macao Special Administrative Region (MSAR) Government to Portugal in 2023, in-depth exchanges had taken place between governmental and business representatives, opening up new prospects for friendship and cooperation between the two sides.
The Chief Executive briefed Mr Reis on Macao’s active promotion of the city’s “1+4” appropriate economic diversification strategy – including the development of the Guangdong-Macao Intensive Cooperation Zone in Hengqin – which aimed to optimise Macao’s industrial structure and expand the areas for the city’s development.
Mr Ho encouraged Portuguese companies to increase investment in Macao and expand their businesses to the Greater Bay Area, particularly in the health sector. In December 2023, the Islands Healthcare Complex – Macao Medical Center of Peking Union Medical College Hospital commenced trial operations, effectively promoting the development of Macao’s health industry through the brand influence of the Beijing Union Medical College Hospital. With Portugal’s strong foundation in biomedicine, relevant enterprises could use the bridgehead of Macao and Hengqin to enter the Chinese mainland market, Mr Ho added.
Mr Reis conveyed greetings from the President and Prime Minister of the Portuguese Republic. He stated he had high expectations for the Ministerial Conference, which would further deepen the friendly relations between Portugal and China, and broaden the potential for bilateral economic and trade cooperation. The continuous strengthening of exchanges and cooperation between Portuguese-speaking countries and China also brought more opportunities for Macao to promote appropriate economic diversification. Portugal looked forward to participating in the development of Macao’s modern financial industry, and would encourage more Portuguese enterprises to expand their businesses to Macao, a step that would have reciprocal benefits for Portugal and Macao.
Mr Reis said he believed that Macao would continue to play its platform role, and provide greater assistance to Portuguese companies for their participation in the development of the Greater Bay Area and for entering the mainland Chinese market. He mentioned that the tourism and exhibition industries were important sectors in Portugal, and in recent years Portugal had hosted various major exhibition events. It was hoped there could be – with Macao and mainland China – joint organisation of large-scale exhibition projects, promoting cultural exchanges and economic development.
The Minister also expressed gratitude to the MSAR Government for its continuous efforts in promoting Portuguese language education and Portuguese culture.
Saturday’s meeting was attended by the Ambassador of Portugal to China, Mr Paulo Jorge Pereira do Nascimento, and the Consul-General of Portugal in Macao, Mr Alexandre Leitão.
