CE meets President of Portuguese Republic in Lisbon

MACAU, April 21 - The Chief Executive, Mr Sam Hou Fai, met with the President of the Portuguese Republic, Mr António José Seguro. They exchanged views on advancing high-quality cooperation between Macao and Portugal across multiple fields – including economics and trade, culture, education, and tourism – and on supporting Macao in further enhancing its role as a platform for China-Portugal cooperation.

The meeting took place at Belém Palace in Lisbon, Portugal, in the morning local time on Tuesday (21 April). The Chief Executive arrived in Lisbon on 18 April, for the first stop of a four-nation European tour.

Mr Sam expressed his gratitude to President Seguro for making time for the meeting amid a busy schedule. On behalf of the Macao Special Administrative Region (MSAR) Government, Mr Sam extended sincere congratulations on his election as President in February and his inauguration in March. The Chief Executive also thanked President Seguro for his high regard for the successful implementation of the “One country, two systems” principle in Macao, which further demonstrated that “One country, two systems” is a sound policy, widely recognised by the international community.

Mr Sam noted that the series of important remarks and instructions delivered by President Xi Jinping during his 2024 inspection tour of Macao had provided clear direction for Macao’s development. The recently-released outline of China’s 15th Five-Year Plan included a series of major initiatives to support Macao in consolidating and enhancing its competitive advantages, and better integrating into and serving the national development agenda, while offering Macao significant new opportunities.

The MSAR Government would proactively align with the development blueprint of China, and diligently formulate and implement the Third Five-Year Plan for the Social and Economic Development of the MSAR, with a focus on Macao’s role as a bridge between China and Portuguese-speaking countries.

Anchored in its positioning as “One Centre, One Platform, One Base”, and “One Highland” – as a gathering place for international talent – Macao will continue to expand its external engagement, particularly deepening and broadening practical cooperation with Portuguese-speaking countries, Mr Sam stated.

The Chief Executive expressed hope that Portugal will continue to support Macao’s internationalisation, and that both sides will work together to ensure the successful hosting of the 7th Ministerial Conference of the Forum for Economic and Trade Co-operation between China and Portuguese-speaking Countries (Macao) in Macao next year.

The MSAR Government has consistently and vigorously promoted the use of Portuguese and supported Portuguese-language education, stressed Mr Sam. The number of people studying Portuguese in Macao is currently the highest since the city’s return to the motherland. All legal documents and official government announcements in the MSAR are jointly published in Chinese and Portuguese. Many court rulings are issued in Portuguese or in both languages, and judicial officers are required to be proficient in Portuguese, he noted.

Mr Sam added that high-quality talent is essential for Macao’s future development. Under the current MSAR talent-attraction scheme, proficiency in Portuguese is considered an advantage, further demonstrating the MSAR Government’s strong commitment to the Portuguese language.

Speaking in the meeting, President Seguro noted that Portugal and China established diplomatic relations in 1979 and elevated their relationship to a comprehensive strategic partnership in 2005. Since then, bilateral ties have remained friendly and close, with growing mutual political trust and frequent high-level exchanges. Following the establishment of the comprehensive strategic partnership, cooperation between the two countries has made substantial progress in matters concerning economics and trade, science and technology, culture, education, and other fields, and has positive momentum, he added.

Looking forward, Portugal will continue to uphold the One-China principle and, guided also by the principles of mutual benefit and shared development, further advance comprehensive cooperation with China, as well as continue Portugal’s support for the development of the MSAR.

Mr Seguro stated that the friendly relationship between Portugal and Macao has deep historical roots and has long been characterised by close exchanges and solid cooperation across various areas.

Portugal values its ongoing cooperation with Macao, including joint efforts to promote Portuguese-language education, said the President. He expressed hope that the Macau Portuguese School – playing a key role in language education – will continue to develop and thrive.

President Seguro suggested further strengthening tourism collaboration and actively studying the feasibility of establishing direct air links between Macao and Portugal. He also expressed interest in the upcoming seventh meeting of the Macao-Portugal Joint Committee, and hoped a concrete date could be confirmed soon.

Also present at Tuesday’s meeting were: the Chinese Ambassador to Portugal, Mr Yang Yirui; the MSAR’s Secretary for Social Affairs and Culture, Ms O Lam; the Chief-of-Office of the Chief Executive’s Office, Ms Chan Kak; and the Director of the Macao Economic and Trade Office in Lisbon, Ms Lúcia Abrantes dos Santos.

Other officials representing the Portuguese side were: Acting Director of the Presidential Office, Ms Cláudia Ribeiro; the Foreign Affairs Advisor to the President, Ms Manuela Teixeira Pinto; the Consul-General of Portugal in Macao, Mr Alexandre Leitão; and Senior Foreign Policy Advisor, Mr Eduardo Pinto da Silva.