Portuguese Foreign Affairs Minister tours Macau to strengthen ties

Augusto Santos Silva speaks during an event at the Portuguese consul residence

The Minister of Foreign Affairs of Portugal, Augusto Santos Silva, toured Macau over the weekend and met with several local representatives, including Chief Executive (CE) Chui Sai On as well as Portuguese representatives in the region and other community representatives.

During his visit the Portuguese official highlighted the constant development and furthering of relations between Portugal, China and Macau.

When questioned by TDM Radio during his visit to the 23rd Macao International Trade and Investment Fair (MIF) on Saturday, Santos Silva commented on the lack of Portuguese representatives in the Forum for Economic and Trade Co-operation Between China and Portuguese-speaking Countries (Forum Macao). “We have at the moment the Deputy Secretary General of the Forum (Rodrigo Brum), which represents the Portuguese-speaking countries. He is Portuguese,” Santos Silva said, noting that the Portuguese Trade and Investment Agency (AICEP) delegate in Macau, Maria João Bonifácio, “also works very closely with the Forum and we are progressing and consolidating, also in [regards] to the human resources need.”
During his visit, the minister also announced that President of Portugal Marcelo Rebelo de Sousa is planning a trip to China and Macau “soon,” although he declined to provide a more concrete date for said visit. Santos Silva also announced five projects between Portugal and Macau related to consumer law, the creation of a joint fund to finance scientific and technological projects, as well as the furthering of Portuguese companies’ presence in the region and the continuation of tertiary education exchange relations.

Santos Silva co-chaired the fifth meeting of the Macau-Portugal Joint Committee, which was held Saturday morning at Government Headquarters. During the meeting, Chui said that the local government would encourage more young business people from Macau to explore opportunities in Portugal regarding innovation and entrepreneurship.

Regarding the promotion of the Portuguese language, it was said that Macau has the capabilities and experience to become the best training base in Asia for Portuguese language skills. Macau authorities pledged to establish more courses and academic entities focusing on the Portuguese language. RM