Ho Iat Seng in talks with Guangdong officials to facilitate cross-border travel

Macau Chief Executive Ho Iat Seng and Guangdong’s governor Ma Xingrui are in agreement over the benefit of resuming cross-border visitor movements, but no arrangement has yet been finalized over the lifting of quarantine measures in the mainland province.
Ho met with Ma and Li Xi, the Communist Party Secretary of Guangdong province, on Tuesday in Guangzhou, during which the current immigration restrictions among other matters were discussed.
During the meeting, the two sides also discussed further cooperation on epidemic-control work and arrangements aimed at facilitating cross-border travel in the context of the Covid-19 pandemic. The officials shared a belief that resumption of normal cross-
border movement would be beneficial to the development of the Greater Bay Area.
The Government of the Macau Special Administrative Region (SAR) has been paying close attention to the developments regarding the novel coronavirus, and has been attaching the utmost importance to epidemic-control work in order to prevent the spread of Covid-19 within the city or beyond, Ho told Li and Ma.
The Chief Executive also briefed the Guangdong officials on Macau’s efforts to combat Covid-19, noting that the disease has been controlled in the city.
Following the outbreak of Covid-19, Macau gradually closed its borders to visitors and non-local workers, and many flights have been suspended.
During the 13th Chinese People’s Political Consultative Conference (CPPCC), many Macau members expressed their wish to welcome visitors back to the region sooner than planned.
Analysts have previously stated that the resumption of issuing Individual Visit Scheme visas will occur after the 13th CPPCC.
The Chief Executive has remarked several times that the local government has been in discussions with the mainland government authority regarding the resumption of ordinary border policies so that mainland visitors will be able to travel to Macau and help alleviate the pain caused by the city’s economic downfall.
Ho assured Li and Ma that the Macau SAR government will continue to pay close attention to the Covid-19 development and that Macau will keep striving to protect the city from the chance of both local infected cases and imported incidents.
During the meeting, Ho acknowledged that Macau and Guangdong have long-
standing close relations. He added he was looking forward to collaborating with Guangdong to advance development of the Greater Bay Area project.
Ho said Macau would foster efforts alongside Guangdong in the development of the Guangdong-Macau Intensive Cooperation Zone on Hengqin as a pilot zone under the “One country, two systems” framework and as a new platform for high-standard international economic cooperation.
Top Guangdong leader Li said Guangdong would work closely with Macau to achieve further progress on a number of current issues, including work relating to the prevention and control of Covid-19.
Li also promised that the two regions would contribute to the development of the Greater Bay Area be deepening cooperation on the Guangdong-Macau Intensive Cooperation Zone on Hengqin. JZ