CE meets Guinea-Bissau Minister of Economy, Planning, and Regional Integration to foster ties

MACAU, April 24 - The Chief Executive, Mr Ho Iat Seng, today met with the Minister of Economy, Planning, and Regional Integration of the Republic of Guinea-Bissau, Mr Soares Sambú. The two officials exchanged views on municipal construction, youth training, and other issues.

During the meeting held at the Government Headquarters, the Chief Executive expressed gratitude to Minister Sambú for leading the delegation of Guinea-Bissau that attended 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, as well as attending related activities.

Mr Ho noted that Forum Macao had been founded in Macao in 2003. At that time, there were seven Portuguese-speaking countries participating, and now there were nine, meaning Forum Macao covered all countries in the world where Portuguese is an official language. The trade volume between China and Portuguese-speaking countries had also increased: from 11 billion U.S. dollars in 2003, to 220.9 billion U.S. dollars in 2023, fully demonstrating the outstanding results achieved by Forum Macao since its establishment.

Mr Ho also pointed out that every year under the Forum Macao framework, young people from Guinea-Bissau came to Macao to study and receive training, and over the years, the Macao Special Administrative Region (MSAR) Government had also supported Guinea-Bissau’s talent cultivation efforts through relevant policies. 

The Chief Executive agreed to strengthen exchanges and cooperation between Macao and Guinea-Bissau in municipal management and related construction. He said that the MSAR Government had considerable experience in municipal management, and would continue to provide support to Guinea-Bissau to the best of Macao’s ability, and assist its government in the work continuously to improve the country’s urban environment.

Minister Sambú expressed his sincere gratitude to Forum Macao and the MSAR Government, for the warm hospitality during his delegation’s visit to Macao.

He pointed out that since its establishment more than 20 years ago, Forum Macao has continued to achieve results, and has become one of the most important economic and trade cooperation platforms in the world. The Guinea-Bissau delegation was very pleased to have had the opportunity to participate in the 6th Ministerial Conference, a prestigious event. Guinea-Bissau would seize the opportunities arising from the Ministerial Conference, to deepen exchanges in multiple fields, and cooperation with Macao, mainland China, and other Portuguese-speaking countries.

When outlining Guinea-Bissau’s situation, Minister Sambú said that promoting further economic and social development was an important task of the current Guinea-Bissau Government. In this regard, it was crucial to increase efforts in promoting talent training, education, facilitation of taxation, and other tasks.

Mr Sambú sincerely thanked the MSAR Government for its support and assistance over the years to Guinea-Bissau young people studying in Macao. He hoped that the two places would continue to strengthen educational cooperation, such as promoting the establishment of contact mechanisms between tertiary institutions, and jointly launching training programmes to help Guinea-Bissau enhance its scientific research capabilities.

Also present at the meeting were the Secretary for Economy and Finance of the MSAR, Mr Lei Wai Nong; the Minister of Territorial Administration and Local Government of Guinea-Bissau, Mr Marciano Silva Barbeiro; the Minister of State for Natural Resources and Energy of Guinea-Bissau, Mr Malam Sambu; and the Ambassador of Guinea-Bissau to China, Mr António Serifo Embaló.