Chief Executive Ho Iat Seng met with the top officials of Guangdong province this week to exchange views on a wide range of topics, such as boosting Guangdong-Macao ties, speeding up preparations for the setting-up of the Guangdong-Macao Intensive Cooperation Zone in Hengqin, and resuming normal cross-border travel in the wake of the COVID-19 crisis, the Macao Government Information Bureau (GCS) said in a statement on Wednesday.
Ho visited Guangzhou on Tuesday for a meeting with the secretary of the Guangdong Provincial Committee of the Communist Party of China (CPC), Li Xi, and Guangdong Governor Ma Xingrui. Ho returned to Macao after the meeting. Li and Ma are first- and second-ranked officials of the neighbouring province.
According to the statement, Ho said during the meeting that Macao was looking forward to promoting the development of the Guangdong-Hong Kong-Macao Greater Bay Area (GBA) in close cooperation with Guangdong.
Ho also said that Macao would focus their cooperation on the development of the Guangdong-Macao Intensive Cooperation Zone in Hengqin as a pilot zone within the “One Country, Two Systems” framework and as a new platform for high-quality economic cooperation.
Ho also briefed Guangdong’s leadership on Macao’s effort to prevent and control COVID-19, noting the disease had been controlled in the city.
The two sides at the meeting also discussed further cooperation in fighting the novel coronavirus disease and updating arrangements aimed at facilitating cross-border travel in response to the latest developments on the COVID-19 front, the statement said.
According to the statement, the two sides agreed that the resumption of normal cross-border travel would be beneficial to the GBA development.
During Tuesday’s meeting, Li said Guangdong would work further to deepen cooperation with Macao, in particular regarding the Guangdong-Macao Intensive Cooperation Zone in Hengqin, and thereby contribute to pressing ahead with the GBA development.
Li was also quoted as saying that the Guangdong government will adhere to the aspirations and directives for Macao set out in December by President Xi Jinping, and act in accordance with the “One Country, Two Systems” principle concerning cooperation with Macao.
Xi paid an inspection visit to Macao in late December, when Ho was sworn in as Macao’s new Chief Executive.
He also said Guangdong would work closely with Macao in order to achieve further progress in a raft of matters, including measures to keep the COVID-19 epidemic under control.
(The Macau Post Daily/Macau News)
PHOTO © CGTN
