Monday’s 2017 Boao Forum for Asia (BFA) Development Summit (Macau) focused on the theme of “Smart City Construction and Development of the Asian Region.” The one-day event was held at Sands Cotai Central.
Zhou Wenzhong, the forum’s secretary-general, noted at the opening ceremony that Macau is one of the world’s most open trade and investment economies, and also an important platform for communication and cooperation between China and Portuguese-speaking countries.
According to the Macau Post Daily, Zhou also predicted that Macau will play a major role in the international cooperation framework of the Belt and Road (B&R) Initiative.
Secretary for Economy and Finance Lionel Leong Vai Tac said in his opening speech that all countries and regions have to choose the route of opening-up to realize sustainable development.
According to Leong, the rapid development of Asian countries and regions has shown that economic globalization and regional integration are the engine for economic and social advance.
The local government will speed up Macau’s smart city development to assist in the city’s development, the policy secretary pledged.
The summit consisted of three sessions: “Smart City and the Development of Asia”, “Young Talent and the Future of Asia” and “The Belt and Road Initiative and the Specialized Financial Services”.
Some 1,600 senior government officials, industry representatives, experts and scholars from Macau, the Chinese mainland, Britain, Australia and the United States took part in the event, which was also attended by Macau’s first chief executive Edmund Ho Hau Wah and his successor Fernando Chui Sai On.
It was the second development summit held by the forum in Macau. The first version was held in 2015.
