The Chief Executive, Mr Sam Hou Fai, said today that his official visit to three Southeast Asian nations had comprehensively strengthened the overall level of cooperation between Macao and the countries visited – Singapore, Indonesia, and Malaysia – as well as with the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN).
Speaking to reporters in the Malaysian capital, Kuala Lumpur, Mr Sam said the three-country visit had also promoted Macao’s successful implementation of the “One country, two systems” principle, as well as the Third Five-Year Plan for Economic and Social Development of the Macao Special Administrative Region (MSAR) (2026-2030). The visit bolstered exchanges with the three countries and deepened practical cooperation in fields such as economic and trade matters, tourism, education, and culture, achieving its intended objectives.
Mr Sam said the eight-day visit featured a full schedule, rich in content, comprising 37 events. These included: official meetings; hosting receptions and promotional events concerning economic matters, trade, tourism, and investment; site visits to local projects; delivering a speech at a university; exchanging views with overseas Chinese leaders and representatives from Chinese chambers of commerce; and organising cultural exhibitions and education-promotion activities. As part of the visit, Mr Sam also met with leaders and senior officials from the three countries and the ASEAN Secretariat.
The Chief Executive summarised the visit’s main achievements under four key aspects.
First, the visit helped strengthen external exchanges and promote Macao’s successful practice of the “One country, two systems” principle. Mr Sam said he had taken every opportunity to introduce Macao’s implementation of the “One country, two systems” principle, as well as the city’s Third Five-Year Plan, to the international community, thereby effectively conveying Macao’s story to the outside world.
This, he noted, helped demonstrate the strong vitality and unique value of the great institution of the “One country, two systems” principle, and it also gave different sectors in the countries visited a more comprehensive and objective understanding of Macao’s considerable development achievements since its return to the motherland.
Mr Sam also promoted Macao as an important bridgehead for China’s high-level opening-up, highlighting the city’s unique advantage of being “backed by the motherland and connected to the world”. During his tour, he invited people in the three countries to share in the development opportunities offered by Macao and Hengqin.
The MSAR delegation also gained a deeper understanding of the economic and social development of each of the three countries visited, strengthening exchanges and mutual learning. In Singapore, Mr Sam visited industrial parks, cultural and tourism facilities, urban renewal initiatives, and Housing & Development Board (HDB) public housing projects. Those visits provided valuable insights for the MSAR Government’s work in related areas.
The second achievement highlighted by Mr Sam was the deepening of economic and trade cooperation with the three countries and the promotion of Macao’s appropriate economic diversification. Whilst introducing the business environment and development opportunities of Macao and Hengqin to enterprises in the three nations, arrangements were made for business representatives from Macao, Hengqin and other parts of the Chinese mainland accompanying the MSAR delegation to meet and exchange views with senior officials in the economic and trade sectors of Singapore, Indonesia, and Malaysia. They visited local government departments, major chambers of commerce, and leading enterprises. These activities enabled the business representatives accompanying the MSAR delegation to forge closer connections with their Southeast Asian counterparts and broaden the scope for economic and trade cooperation, effectively putting the concept of “joint voyage” into practice.
The visit included more than 370 business-matching sessions and resulted in the signing of 189 cooperation agreements involving governments bodies and businesses from the three countries. The agreements covered a number of sectors, including economy and trade, conventions and exhibitions, high and new technology, traditional Chinese medicine and ‘Big Health’, halal products, and brand marketing.
The third main achievement mentioned by the Chief Executive was the strengthening of tourism cooperation with Singapore, Indonesia, and Malaysia, alongside efforts to attract more international visitors to Macao. The three ASEAN countries are important international tourist-source markets that Macao is seeking to expand. During the visit, the Macao delegation promoted the MSAR’s continuing efforts to develop a Muslim-friendly tourism environment, and actively marketed premium tourism itineraries such as “joint Hong Kong-Macao tours” and “multi-destination” travel within the Guangdong-Hong Kong-Macao Greater Bay Area. The Macao Government Tourism Office and relevant MSAR tourism associations reached a number of agreements with local counterparts to strengthen cooperation and promote the marketing and sale of Macao tourism products.
The fourth aspect highlighted by the Chief Executive was the strengthening of cooperation in fields such as education and culture, thus promoting closer people-to-people exchanges. Mr Sam delivered a speech at the National University of Singapore, and exchanged views with experts, scholars, and students. He also encouraged Singapore’s participation in the development of the Macao-Hengqin International Education (University) Town. Three public universities in Macao and a number of private universities signed 16 educational cooperation agreements with several renowned institutions in Singapore and Malaysia.
Macao’s Education and Youth Development Bureau, together with nine MSAR higher education institutions, held a “Study in Macao” Education Fair in Kuala Lumpur to attract local students to pursue tertiary education in Macao. The MSAR’s Cultural Affairs Bureau also co-organised an exhibition with the Jakarta Provincial Cultural Service to promote Macao’s cultural heritage, deepening bilateral exchanges and cooperation in the cultural sector.
Macao will continue to leverage the institutional advantages offered by the “One country, two systems” principle, adhere closely to its positioning as “One Centre, One Platform, One Base”, and strengthen practical cooperation with ASEAN countries in areas such as economic and trade matters, tourism, conventions and exhibitions, scientific and technological innovation, education, and culture. These efforts will support Macao’s appropriate economic diversification and enable the city to contribute further to the continued deepening of friendly and cooperative relations between China and ASEAN.
Upon returning to Macao, the MSAR Government will make every effort to advance the various outcomes of the visit, implement each cooperation project in an orderly manner, and undertake the necessary follow-up work. It will also provide relevant services to the enterprises that accompanied the delegation, Mr Sam said.
Responding to questions from reporters, the Chief Executive noted that Singapore’s public housing policy framework had operated effectively for many years. Since the establishment of the MSAR, the Macao Government has continuously researched and drawn lessons from Singapore’s public housing policies, he added. During his visit to public housing projects in Singapore, Mr Sam had an opportunity to deepen his understanding of the country’s latest experiences in this field, including measures introduced in response to changes in family circumstances and demographics, as well as the effectiveness of Singapore’s urban renewal work.
The MSAR Government would combine the insights gained in Singapore with Macao’s actual situation to steadily optimise public housing policies, Mr Sam stated. Through initiatives including building maintenance and repairs, neighbourhood beautification and revitalisation, and improvements to community facilities, the MSAR Government plans to effectively advance Macao’s urban renewal and respond effectively to residents’ demands for better living environments and an improved quality of life.
Regarding cooperation with countries such as Malaysia in the halal-products industry, Mr Sam said Macao enterprises had dedicated themselves to developing this market segment in recent years. Currently, more than 20 Macao enterprises have obtained halal certification, and more than 60 products have been awarded halal certificates. Malaysia has a world-leading halal certification system and industrial chain. Representatives from Macao chambers of commerce joining the MSAR delegation had already established links with Malaysian enterprises with a view to pursuing further cooperation in halal-related industries and certification.
Mr Sam pointed out that Macao has a rich culinary heritage. The MSAR Government plans to use this as a starting point, taking advantage of the city’s role as a platform and complementing it with a Muslim-friendly tourism environment. These efforts are intended to inject fresh momentum into tourism and halal- industry cooperation between Macao and countries such as Malaysia and Indonesia.
Regarding the resumption of direct flights between Macao and Jakarta, Mr Sam stated that Macao recorded more than 200,000 visitor arrivals from Indonesia in 2025, and there were more than 8,000 Indonesian citizens working in the MSAR, meaning there is market demand for restoring direct flights between Macao and Jakarta. During his meetings with relevant Indonesian officials, both sides expressed the same aspiration, agreeing that restoring direct flights would facilitate people-to-people exchanges, business travel, tourism and family visits, while also promoting cultural and social exchanges. It was hoped that both sides would work together to push this endeavour forward, Mr Sam added.
