The newly-accredited Angolan Ambassador to Beijing, Mr João Salvador dos Santos Neto, visited on July 6 the headquarters of the Permanent Secretariat of the Forum for Economic and Trade Co-operation between China and Portuguese-speaking Countries (Macao). He was joined by the Consul-General of Angola in the Macao SAR, Ms Sofia Pegado da Silva.

The Secretary-General of the Permanent Secretariat, Ms Xu Yingzhen, welcomed Mr Santos Neto, as did Deputy Secretaries-General Mr Ding Tian and Ms Glória Batalha Ung.

Mr Santos Neto thanked Ms Xu for her warm welcome and said the Angolan Government attached great importance to Forum Macao and to Macao’s role as a cooperation platform, and would continue to strengthen cooperation with Forum Macao and support the work carried out by the Permanent Secretariat.

The Angolan Ambassador stated that Angola had entered a new phase of economic development and was striving to diversify its economy. He noted in that regard that the country’s “Private Investment Law” and its “Competition Law” had just been promulgated.

The Ambassador reiterated that Chinese companies were welcome to strengthen cooperation with Angola in the fields of agriculture, fisheries, mining, industry and tourism. He added he hoped all parties could continue to take advantage of the multilateral cooperation mechanism offered by Forum Macao and Macao’s role as a platform, in order further to boost cooperation between Angola, China and the member countries of Forum Macao.

In greeting Mr Santos Neto, Forum Macao’s Ms Xu gave a brief presentation on the activities carried out by the Permanent Secretariat of Forum Macao, namely in relation to trade and investment promotion, and cooperation on capacity production, education and culture. She highlighted Macao’s role as a platform linking China and Portuguese-speaking Countries, especially in terms of trade, innovation and youth entrepreneurship. She also talked about the activities scheduled to mark the 15th anniversary of the establishment of Forum Macao.

During the meeting, Ms Xu highlighted Angola’s important contribution to Forum Macao, saying she hoped that Angola could play an even more active role in the activities carried out by Forum Macao; taking advantage of Macao’s role as a platform, and promoting further exchanges and cooperation between Mainland China, Macao and Angola in the fields of economy, trade, and culture.