Portuguese Prime Minister Montenegro arrives in Macau today for meeting with CE

Portugal’s newly reappointed Prime Minister, Luís Montenegro, will visit Macau today and is scheduled to meet with Chief Executive Sam Hou Fai during his two-day visit, which lasts until September 10, according to the Government Information Bureau (GCS).

In his first official visit to China as Prime Minister, Montenegro accepted an invitation from Chinese Premier Li Qiang, with Macau serving as one of the stops on his trip.

The Ministry of Foreign Affairs of China announced on Friday that, at the invitation of Premier Li Qiang, Portuguese Prime Minister Luís Montenegro will pay an official visit to China from September 8 to 10, Monday through Wednesday.

Guo Jiakun, the spokesperson for the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, stated during a regular press briefing that this marks Montenegro’s first visit to China.

During his visit, President Xi Jinping will meet with him, and Premier Li Qiang, along with Chairman of the Standing Committee of the National People’s Congress Zhao Leji, will also hold separate talks to exchange in-depth views on bilateral relations and issues of mutual concern.

“China and Portugal share a longstanding tradition of friendship. In recent years, guided by our leaders’ strategic vision, both sides have committed to the principles of mutual respect, openness, inclusiveness, and collaborative progress. We have made significant strides in exchanges and cooperation across various fields, including economic and trade relations, green development, science and technology, and people-to-people ties, yielding positive results that have benefited our peoples,” Guo stated.

He added, “This year marks the 20th anniversary of the establishment of the China-Portugal comprehensive strategic partnership. China is eager to work with Portugal to use this visit as an opportunity to deepen strategic mutual trust, enhance friendly exchanges, advance high-quality Belt and Road cooperation, expand mutually beneficial collaboration, and elevate the China-Portugal comprehensive strategic partnership to new heights.”

Meanwhile, Chief Executive Sam Hou Fai’s planned visit to Portugal has faced multiple postponements.

Originally slated to occur before this summer vacation, the trip was delayed to autumn due to Portugal’s early elections and the subsequent formation of a new government, as disclosed by Sam to the media in June.

The itinerary, which was announced last month for September 16-23 to include visits to Portugal and Spain, has now been rescheduled once again.

The GCS opened media registration on August 26 for coverage of the Chief Executive’s first overseas visit since taking office. The original itinerary included stops in Lisbon and Madrid. As of now, the government has not announced new dates for the visit.