Chief Executive Chui Sai On said Friday at the 2016 Pan-Pearl River Delta (PPRD) Regional Cooperation Chief Executive Joint Conference in Nanchang, Jiangxi province that Macau will integrate development with its unique advantages, to fully support PPRD cooperation and innovative development, and will promote the “Belt and Road” initiative.
Speaking at the conference, Chief Executive Chui Sai On said that Macau will actively support and facilitate PPRD cooperation and innovative development.
He said that Macau will firstly enhance close cooperation with the free trade zones in Guangdong and Fujian, strive to introduce innovative ideas and arrangements, promote industry matching and common progress, to contribute to the development of the Guangdong-Hong Kong-Macau Big Bay Area.
“The PPRD Cooperation and Development Fund is another innovative arrangement supported by the MSAR Government, which is beneficial to deepening PPRD cooperation.” he said.
Regarding joint promotion of the “Belt and Road” initiative, Chui said Macau will expedite its development as a world tourism and leisure centre, and a business and trade cooperation and services platform for China and Portuguese-speaking countries.
Chui added that the PPRD provinces and regions should join hands to integrate tourism resources, consistently develop tourism products and routes with “Belt and Road”and build a quality brand for PPRD multi-destination tours, deepen international cooperation, and leverage Macau’s advantages arising from its connections with global tourism organisations, to jointly promote tourism for the countries along the “Belt and Road”.
Regarding the role of Macau as a platform, Chief Executive Chui Sai On said that Premier Li Keqiang has announced, at the Fifth Ministerial Conference of the Forum for Economic and Trade Cooperation between China and Portuguese-speaking Countries, a series of major initiatives to deepen cooperation and support the development of the Special Administrative Region.
At the coming Macao International Environmental Cooperation Forum and Exhibition (MIECF) next year, Macao will strive to more closely match the strategy of the “Belt and Road” initiative, to deepener cooperation in green products and green technology between the PPRD and the European Union and Portuguese-speaking countries.
The Pan-PRD region comprises nine provinces in the Pearl River Delta region in Southern China, plus the two SARs of Hong Kong and Macao. The nine provinces are namely Fujian, Jiangxi, Hunan, Guangdong, Guangxi, Hainan, Sichuan, Guizhou and Yunnan. The Pan-PRD region has an area of 2.006 million square km, accounting for 21% of the total area of China. It has a population of 453 million, representing 35% of China’s total population. The region accounts for about 40% of China’s total economic output.
(Macau News/GCS)
