The first session in a series titled Webinars on International Cooperation Against Covid-19 was held online on June 16, at 8pm (Beijing time). A number of guests from China and the Portuguese-speaking Countries and territories attended the first Seminar of the series. They included: the Chinese Ambassador to Brazil, Mr Yang Wanming; the Consul-General of China in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil, Mr Li Yang; the Secretary-General of the Permanent Secretariat of Forum Macao, Ms Xu Yingzhen; and the representative of the Shanghai Municipal People’s Government, Ms Wu Fan. Also attending were: the Mayors respectively of the Brazilian municipalities Niterói, Japeri and Mangaratiba; the Minas Gerais State Government Secretary; a representative of the Rio de Janeiro Government; and officials respectively from the Governments of Angola, Cabo Verde, Guiné-Bissau, and the Macao Special Administrative Region (SAR).
The Webinars on International Cooperation Against Covid-19 are taking place via videoconference. There are four themed Seminars in the series, scheduled for June 16, 23 and 30, and July 7. Following a ceremony to mark the launch of the series, the first themed Seminar in the series, titled “Promoting International Cooperation in the Fight Against Covid-19”, addressed a raft of key topics, namely Sino-Brazilian cooperation; international cooperation under Forum Macao; the Brazilian Government’s experience of international cooperation, and international medical cooperation projects.
At the first Seminar, the Secretary-General of the Permanent Secretariat of Forum Macao, Ms Xu , delivered a speech on promoting international cooperation in the fight against Covid-19. The Secretary-General said it was imperative for all countries and places to engage in dialogue and cooperation to win the international community’s battle against Covid-19: the latter was becoming a global crisis and an unprecedented challenge. She said the Macao SAR and Forum Macao had taken on the roles of a bridge and cooperation platform between China and the Portuguese-Speaking Countries. Forum Macao had developed several online and offline support activities, such as the publication on the Permanent Secretariat’s official website and its social media accounts, of Portuguese-language versions of promotional videos, the titles of which translate in English as “Coming together to fight the pandemic!” and “ Better prevention, better protection!”. Forum Macao had also donated protective and safety equipment to Portuguese-speaking Countries with the help of Macao trade associations.
In order to strengthen cooperation between China and Portuguese-speaking Countries in the fight against the pandemic, Forum Macao’s Secretary-General Ms Xu called for:
Greater synergy regarding multilateral and bilateral cooperation in order to contain the pandemic, especially in the area of traditional Chinese medicine. In relation to the latter, there is a series of promotional videos published on the Secretariat’s official website, regarding the use of traditional medicine to tackle Covid-19, and the development of cooperation in human resources regarding people that specialise in the prevention and control of pandemics;
A joint response to the economic impact of the pandemic via added economic and trade cooperation in the post-pandemic period;
Talks on setting up a cooperation mechanism to respond to public health incidents;
The integration of public health cooperation-related content in the documents being prepared for the 6thMinisterial Conference, in order to promote closer and more efficient cooperation between the parties involved in Forum Macao.
Government representatives of the Macao SAR and of some Portuguese-speaking Countries, namely Angola, Cabo Verde and Guiné-Bissau; as well as representatives of the Traditional Chinese Medicine Science and Technology Industrial Park of Co-operation between Guangdong and Macao; and of the Embassy of Angola in China, the Embassy of Guiné-Bissau in China and the Consulate General of Angola in the Macao SAR, also took part in the first Webinar.
