São Tomé and Príncipe to welcome 300 entrepreneurs at July meeting

About 300 entrepreneurs are expected to head to São Tomé and Príncipe to attend the 14th business meeting for economic cooperation between China and the Portuguese-speaking countries next July, the organizing committee said.

The organizing committee of the meeting, which will take place on July 8 and 9 in the capital of São Tomé, was established last week by a government decision, with the Minister of Finance and the Blue Economy, Osvaldo Vaz, as chairman.

The minister, quoted in the local press, said that for São Tomé and Príncipe the event represents a unique opportunity to attract private investments from companies of the member countries of the Community of Portuguese-speaking Countries and China.

Osvaldo Vaz said that the potential of São Tomé and Príncipe in the fields of tourism, agriculture, fisheries, and other sectors, will be promoted before and during the event.

São Tomé and Príncipe depend on bilateral and multilateral international aid to meet 97.2 percent of expenditure equivalent to USD150 million entered in the State Budget for 2019.

The business meeting in July in São Tomé and Príncipe was announced at the end of March by the Secretary-General of Forum Macau, Xu Yingzhen, at a meeting in which members of the Forum unanimously approved the plan of work for 2019.

São Tomé and Príncipe joined Forum Macau in March 2017, three months after re-establishing diplomatic relations with China.