“The 20th anniversary of the Macao Forum should be seen not only as a historic milestone but also as a new and advantageous starting point for the development of the Sino-Lusophone Platform towards a new level,” said the Chief Executive yesterday during a reception commemorating the 20th anniversary of the establishment of the Macao Forum.

Ho Iat Seng stressed that “this is the moment to join the efforts of all sectors to value and support this project and move forward together towards a promising future” in front of a packed audience of leading dignitaries of national organizations present in Macao SAR.

The Chief Executive said he was “delighted” to be “reunited with old and new friends on the occasion of the commemoration” of Forum Macau’s decades of existence, and celebrated in a “year of great importance for the MSAR”. Ho Iat Seng explained that 2023 “marks the beginning of the full implementation of the guidelines enshrined in the 20th National Congress of the Communist Party of China (CCP) and the ‘Two Sessions’ respectively of the National People’s Assembly and the Chinese People’s Political Consultative Conference, and also sets the starting point for the crucial implementation of the Second Five-Year Development Plan of the MSAR”. As such, the confluence of dates can only signify an auspicious political moment.

Seizing opportunities

Created twenty years ago, Forum Macau has “benefited from the indispensable support of the Central Government and the consensual participation of the Portuguese-speaking countries”, according to Ho Iat Seng.

The official noted that thanks to the combined efforts of the Central Government, the governments of the Portuguese-speaking countries, Forum Macau had played the role of a link, strengthening “exchange and cooperation between China and the Portuguese-speaking countries.

As a result of the combined efforts, “economic and trade cooperation between China and the Portuguese-speaking countries has achieved encouraging results, deepening and consolidating in several areas, also increasing Macau’s influence internationally and fostering the development of this city,” said Ho Iat Seng.

The Chief Executive pledged to “focus on the positioning and development of Macau as ‘One Centre, One Platform and One Base’, taking advantage of the favourable policies and measures granted by the Central Government to carry forward the multi-sectoral work for the integration of Macau into the national development framework”.

He also gave assurances that the Executive will continue to “provide full support to the work of the Permanent Secretariat of Forum Macau, with emphasis on the preparation of the next Ministerial Conference of Forum Macau”.

Source: Hojemacau