Greater Bay debated during EU-Macau Joint Committee Meeting

The MSAR’s role in the Greater Bay Area and the economic recovery in Europe were a few of the topics debated during the 22nd EU-Macau Joint Committee meeting held here on Friday.

The meeting was co-chaired by Lionel Leong, Secretary for Economy and Finance of the MSAR Government, and Gunnar Wiegand, managing director of the European External Action Service for Asia and the Pacific.

A statement issued by the Office of the Secretary for Economy and Finance said that in regard to policy and regulatory matters, the EU and Macau exchanged views on the developments of their taxation policies.

In particular, the parties took stock of the ongoing monitoring of Macau’s commitments to address the EU’s concerns regarding the screening of third-
party countries and jurisdictions’ taxation policies and practices. 

The parties also exchanged views on recent developments in the areas of anti-money laundering and counter-terrorism financing.

The Macau representatives also provided an update on the review of the government’s procurement regime.

On the topic of tourism, both sides discussed how to boost tourist flows and exchanges, and how to maximize the impact of the Global Tourism Economy Forum (GTEF) scheduled for October 2018 in Macau, an event at which the European Union will be Official Partner.

The parties also agreed to work together under the EU-China Tourism Year (ECTY) 2018, with Macau committed and well placed to play a major role in this initiative.