Rita Santos leaves Forum Macau in March

Rita Santos (center)

The deputy secretary-general of the permanent secretariat of Forum Macau, Rita Santos, has told Radio Macau that she will be retiring and stepping down from her post in March.
The Secretary for Economy and Finance, Lionel Leong, has accepted her request for early retirement.
Ms Santos said that on March 3, she would be required to renew her contract as coordinator of the Support Office for Forum Macau. “I decided to submit my retirement and to also ask for the termination of my contract as deputy secretary-general. I believe that, after so many years of [public] service, I need to devote [my time] to my family,” she said.
Quoting people familiar with the matter, newspaper Hoje Macau reported last month that Ms Santos would be leaving Forum Macau, to be replaced by Echo Chan, who is currently serving as the director of the Macau Trade and Investment Promotion Institute (IPIM).
Ms Santos gave a positive review of Forum Macau’s work since its establishment in 2003. She believes that the forum has helped mainland China recognize and acknowledge the importance of the Portuguese-speaking countries, as well as the role played by the Macanese and Portuguese communities. Moreover, Ms Santos stressed that Forum Macau has also contributed to reinforcing the status of the Portuguese language.
More than simply working together with government departments, she believes that the focus of Forum Macau should be to further its cooperation with the private sector, thus contributing to the diversification of the city’s economy. “I believe that Macau businessmen should take more advantage of the role [Macau plays] as a platform [between China and the Portuguese-speaking countries,” she said.
The Forum for Economic and Trade Cooperation between China and the Portuguese-speaking Countries (the forum’s official name) was established to further multilateral relations.