Secretary for Economy and Finance Lionel Leong Vai Tac said Wednesday that Macau’s role in the Guangdong-Hong Kong-Macau Greater Bay Area (GBA) will advance the development of the Pan-Pearl River Delta (PPRD) region.
GBA refers to the central government’s scheme to link the nation’s two special administrative regions – Macau and Hong Kong- and nine Guangdong cities – Dongguan, Foshan, Guangzhou, Huizhou, Jiangmen, Shenzhen, Zhaoqing, Zhongshan and Zhuhai – into an integrated economic and business hub.
The PPRD refers to eight provinces, including Fujian, Guangdong, Guizhou, Hainan, Hunan, Jiangxi, Sichuan and Yunnan; the two special administrative regions – Macau and Hong Kong, and Guangxi Zhuang Autonomous Region. PPRD is also known as “9+2”.
According to a statement by the Macau Government Information Bureau (GCS), Leong made the remarks during the opening ceremony of the 12th Pan-Pearl River Delta Regional Cooperation and Development Forum and Economic and Trade Fair, also known as the PPRD Forum, in Guangzhou, the capital of Guangdong province.
This year’s two day event, which ends today, was held with a theme of “Greater Bay Area: Driving Innovation, Collaboration and Opportunities.
According to the statement, Leong said that developing the GBA will create fresh opportunities for cooperation internationally regarding the PPRD region, adding that Macau will leverage its advantages in meeting the country’s needs.
Leong pointed out that Macau had not spared any effort in pushing forward the development of its own strategic position as a world centre of tourism and leisure, adding that Macau government had also been looking forward, in terms of advancing tourism cooperation with governments in the PPRD region, including the consolidation of tourism resources and the joint exploration of international markets for tourists.
Leong also said that Macau would strive to develop itself as a hub for training tourism professionals, serving the GBA and extending its services to other places in the PPRD region.
According to the statement, Leong said that Macau was dedicated to establishing itself as a commercial and trade cooperation service platform between mainland China and Portuguese-speaking countries (PSCs), in a bid to act as a bridge between the PPRD region and PSCs.
Leong further pointed out that by giving full play to Macau’s advantages – in terms of its bilingual heritage, its culture, and its extensive network of returned overseas Chinese, mainland cities and Portuguese-speaking countries could use Macau as a platform in order to develop closer mutual ties in economic and trade matters, the MICE (meetings, incentives, conferences and exhibitions) industry, and Traditional Chinese Medicine (TCM).
Leong also attended a dialogue session of the PPRD Forum and another event – the 2018 Pan-Pearl River Delta Regional Cooperation Chief Executive Joint Conference yesterday afternoon.
During the Joint Conference, Leong delivered a speech explaining how Macau had been integrating itself into the development of the GBA and how Macau had been contributing to PPRD regional cooperation.
In the conference Leong said that the central government would soon issue guidelines on the development framework for the GBA and a proposal for advancing the GBA as an international technology and innovation centre, adding that the two documents would act as crucial guidelines for the Macau government, as they would provide a clearer picture of Macau’s strategic positions in a regional context and in terms of key topics for regional cooperation.
