The new head of the Macao Scientific and Cultural Centre in Lisbon, Carmen Amado Mendes, is keen for the centre to make ties with parts of Asia beyond Macao and mainland China, the Plataforma news website reports.

The website quotes Ms Amado Mendes as saying in an interview published on Thursday that the centre is open to holding events to do with Timor-Leste and the Southwestern Malaysian state of Malacca, where the Portuguese language persists.

Ms Amado Mendes said her centre has agreements with the University of Macau and Shanghai University to do joint research on Sino-European links.

The Macao Scientific and Cultural Centre in Lisbon and the Macao Economic and Trade Delegation to Portugal have a good relationship, and the delegation has urged the centre to become an international point of reference for Asian and inter-cultural studies, the Plataforma website quotes Ms Amado Mendes as saying.