Equatorial Guinea will become the 10th member of the Forum Macao on Sunday, Secretary-General of the Permanent Secretariat of Forum Macao Ji Xianzheng announced in an interview with Radio Macau earlier today.
According to Ji, the African country’s formal entry process will take place during Forum Macao’s extraordinary meeting that will be held simultaneously in Macao and Beijing in an online format with the theme “Cooperate to fight against the pandemic, Collaborate for common development”.
During a July 2021 meeting in Macao, Forum Macao members recommended Equatorial Guinea become a member as it is already part of the Community of the Portuguese Speaking Countries (CPLP).
The Central African country will be the latest addition among the Forum Macao members, which currently comprise Angola, Brazil, Cabo Verde, People’s Republic of China, Guinea-Bissau, Mozambique, Portugal, São Tomé and Príncipe and Timor-Leste.
Equatorial Guinea – a Spanish colony until 1968 – has been a member of CPLP since 2014.
The country’s president, Teodoro Obiang, who has been in power since 1979, has campaigned to join Forum Macao over the last several years. Thanks to its exceptional oil production, Equatorial Guinea is one of the richest countries in Africa.
Meanwhile, Ji also told Radio Macau that the Forum Macao will set up a special body within the forum’s structure that will be dedicated to the efforts of fighting and prevention against Covid-19, which “remains the the centre of the organisation”.
The Forum of Economic and Trade Co-operation between China and Portuguese-speaking Countries (Macao), also known as Forum Macao, was launched in October 2003, resulting from an initiative by the Central Government, in coordination with the Portuguese-speaking countries, and with the collaboration of the Macao government.
