The Permanent Secretariat of Forum Macao, the Macao Trade and Investment Promotion Institute (IPIM), and the Department of Commerce of Guangdong Province, jointly hosted the “2021 Guangdong & Macao Branded Products Fair – Portuguese-speaking Countries Product Promotion” at the Venetian Macao’s convention and exhibition centre, on November 26. 

Among the guests attending the event were: Deputy Secretary-General of the Permanent Secretariat of Forum Macao, Mr Paulo Jorge Rodrigues do Espírito Santo; the Coordinator of the Liaison Office of the Permanent Secretariat, Mr Nuno Furtado; the Coordinator of the Support Office of Forum Macao, Ms Mok Iun Lei; IPIM Executive Director Mr Lei Chou Sam; and Deputy Director-General of the Department of Commerce of Guangdong Province, Mr Ma Hua.

Ms Mok said in a speech that the Portuguese-speaking Countries Product Promotion Session was a way to help enterprises from Mainland China and Macao to understand more about products from the Portuguese-speaking Countries. She also said that companies from Portuguese-speaking Countries could take advantage of preferential policies and facilitation measures to explore further the Guangdong-Hong Kong-Macao Greater Bay Area, via the Macao platform. The event helped to provide more information about the Greater Bay Area market to participants from the Portuguese-speaking Countries, strengthening the trade cooperation and communication between the Mainland and the Portuguese-speaking Countries.

Ms Mok said additionally that Forum Macao would continue to rely on Macao’s unique advantages and its role as a platform, in order to seize fresh opportunities brought about by the “Belt and Road” initiative and by the development of the Greater Bay Area. Such efforts would help build closer ties between the Mainland, Macao and Portuguese-speaking Countries, and to further expand cooperation between China and Portuguese-speaking Countries, so as to enhance mutual benefits. Ms Mok also said she believed that the gradual development of the Guangdong-Macao Intensive Cooperation Zone in Hengqin, would be conducive respectively, to promoting the moderate diversification of Macao’s economy, to advancing the construction of the Greater Bay Area, and to driving the development of the Macao platform to a new level.

During the event, the Representatives to Forum Macao from the Portuguese-speaking Countries gave presentations to about 100 visitors, regarding food, handicrafts, tourism products from their own countries. The visitors to the promotion session had been invited to the event by the Department of Commerce of Guangdong Province and by 21 prefecture-level cities in Guangdong. An exchange session between the Representatives and participants was also arranged during the event.

The Representatives of the Portuguese-speaking Countries also visited the exhibition after the promotion session, in order to learn more about the famous products and consumer markets in Guangdong and Macao. By organising various activities, Forum Macao would continue to strengthen the communication and cooperation platform between China and Portuguese-speaking Countries, helping companies from the latter nations enter the Mainland market, and supporting Mainland companies in exporting their products to Portuguese-speaking Countries.