The Chief Executive, Mr Sam Hou Fai, said his visit to Spain marked a new stage in Macao’s relations with the country, enriching Macao’s role as “One Centre, One Platform, One Base”, while injecting fresh momentum into China and Spain’s friendship, and their pursuit of sustainable development.
Mr Sam made the remarks in a press briefing on Wednesday (22 April) in the evening local time. Mr Sam arrived in Madrid on 21 April, after a four-day visit to Lisbon, Portugal.
During Wednesday’s press briefing, Mr Sam said that – building on Macao’s unique role as a platform between China and Portuguese-speaking counties – the current-term Macao Special Administrative Region (MSAR) Government is actively expanding cooperation with Spanish-speaking countries. Spain had been the second stop on this first overseas visit by officials of the MSAR Government.
While the delegation was in Madrid, a number of major events took place, including a tourism roadshow and a trade and investment promotion conference. The Chief Executive met with Spain’s Minister for Foreign Affairs, European Union and Cooperation; and the Second Vice President of the Senate of Spain; and called on the Second Deputy Prime Minister, outlining Macao’s achievements under the “One country, two systems” principle, and discussing enhanced collaboration on trade, tourism, the high-technology sector, and finance.
The Chief Executive highlighted key outcomes in relation to three aspects of work during his visit to Spain.
The first was economic and trade cooperation. Complementary economic structures offer strong potential in advanced manufacturing, green finance and renewable energy. While in Spain – as had happened in Portugal – a delegation of enterprises from Macao, Hengqin, and other parts of the Chinese mainland engaged in business-related matchmaking. A total of 48 cooperation agreements was signed in Madrid, covering high technology, overseas expansion of exhibition brands, and sports events. Around 200 guests attended a Macao-Spain business cooperation seminar, with many Spanish firms expressing strong interest in collaboration with the other side.
The second key outcome was tourism cooperation. Macao and Spain have broad prospects for collaboration on high-quality tourism. Both sides agreed to launch joint promotion campaigns to attract more Spanish and international tourists to experience Macao’s unique blend of Chinese and Western cultures. The Chief Executive also met with United Nations Tourism’s Secretary-General, who pledged greater support for Macao’s international tourism events, including the Global Tourism Economy Forum. Cooperation in global tourism education will be enhanced through Macao University of Tourism.
The third key outcome was platform connectivity. The Macao-Hengqin area serves as a gateway for Spanish enterprises to enter the Chinese mainland market, while Spain likewise is a bridge for Chinese mainland and Macao firms to access Spanish-speaking markets. Both sides agreed to establish a regular business matching mechanism, to facilitate mutual investment and jointly tap into the vast market of the Spanish-speaking world. The China-Portuguese (Spanish) Speaking Countries Economic and Trade Service Centre, jointly created by the MSAR Government and the Executive Committee of the Guangdong-Macao Intensive Cooperation Zone in Hengqin, is actively promoting in Spain the Cooperation Zone’s management system and the incentive policies relating to Hengqin.
The MSAR Government is committed to extending Macao’s platform role beyond Portuguese-speaking countries, to Spanish-speaking countries, broadening international markets and external cooperation, Mr Sam stated.
The MSAR Government was also studying the expansion of the Macao Economic and Trade Office in Lisbon to cover Spain, better supporting Macao and Chinese mainland enterprises in accessing the promising Spanish-speaking markets, Mr Sam added.
