The opening ceremony of the Workshop on Management of Public Administration for Portuguese-speaking Countries took place on the afternoon of May 31, at the Permanent Secretariat of the Forum for Economic and Trade Co-operation between China and Portuguese-speaking Countries (Macao). The Workshop is organised by the Training Centre of Forum Macao and will be conducted in co-operation with the Macao Polytechnic Institute.

Guests joining the opening ceremony included: the Secretary-General of the Permanent Secretariat of Forum Macao, Mr Chang Hexi; the Director-General of the Trade Office of the Economic Affairs Department of the Liaison Office of the Central People’s Government in the Macao SAR, Ms Chen Xing; the Coordinator of the Policy Research Office of the Commissioner of China’s Ministry of Foreign Affairs in the Macao SAR, Ms Liu Yu; the Consul-General of Angola in the Macao SAR, Ms Sofia Pegado da Silva; the Consul-General of Mozambique in the Macao SAR, Mr Rafael Custódio Marques; the Honorary Consul of Guinea-Bissau in the Macao SAR, Mr John Lo; the President of the Macao Polytechnic Institute, Prof. Lei Heong Iok; the Deputy Secretary-General of the Permanent Secretariat of Forum Macao, Mr Vicente de Jesus Manuel; the Deputy Secretary-General of the Permanent Secretariat of Forum Macao, Ms Cristina Morais; the Co-ordinator of the Executive Office of the Permanent Secretariat of Forum Macao, Ms Zhang Jie; the Co-ordinator of the Liaison Office of the Permanent Secretariat of Forum Macao and Representative of Guinea-Bissau at the Permanent Secretariat of Forum Macao, Mr Malam Becker Camará; and the Representatives of Portuguese-speaking Countries in Forum Macao.

The following dignitaries each delivered a speech of welcome: the Deputy Secretary-General of the Permanent Secretariat of Forum Macao, Mr Vicente de Jesus Manuel; the nominated representative of Macao Polytechnic Institute, Prof. Aurélia de Almeida; and the Workshop’s Leader appointed on a rotational basis, Ms Lina Maria da Silva Portugal.

The Workshop runs until June 7, and is being held in Macao and in Kunming, in China’s Yunnan Province. A total of 22 professionals and officials from Brazil, Cape Verde, Guinea-Bissau, Mozambique, Portugal and East Timor are taking part in it.

The programme has several talks, including on: the role of Macao as a platform between China and Portuguese-speaking Countries; Government and Public Administration in China; Public Administration in the Macao Special Administrative Region; human resources management in public administration; and the use of digital technology in government.

Participants in the Workshop will also have the chance to take part in field trips in Macao and Kunming. Participants will visit several of Macao’s public sector departments, including: the Public Administration and Civil Services; the Sports Bureau; and the Labour Affairs Bureau. Participants in the Workshop will also attend the 7th International Infrastructure Investment and Construction Forum, taking place in Macao.

The visit to Kunming is in order to take part in the ‘Macao Week’ and ‘Dynamic Macao Business and Trade Fair’ events to be held in that city. Participants will also visit several public services and companies in Kunming.

The latest Workshop is aimed at highlighting the advantages of Macao as a platform for international co-operation; and to enable participants to benefit from those advantages. Its goals include the strengthening of exchanges between Portuguese-speaking Countries and Mainland China and Macao in the field of public administration. Such strengthening can be achieved via co-operation in the training of human resources and via promotion of intergovernmental co-operation.