Macao is now officially twinned with Água Grande, a district in the Atlantic island nation of São Tomé and Príncipe.
Chief Executive Ho Iat Seng said that the accord would provide fresh opportunities arising from the Belt and Road Initiative.
Ho was speaking during an online ceremony at Macao Government Headquarters to mark the signing of the twinning agreement.
The agreement was signed by Ho and Água Grande District President José Maria Fonseca. Several officials from the Democratic Republic of São Tomé and Príncipe and the People’s Republic of China attended the virtual meeting including Macao-based Foreign Ministry Commissioner Liu Xianfa.
Ho said that over the six years after the resumption of diplomatic relations between the two countries, fruitful results have been achieved in several areas. Ho underlined President Xi Jinping’s remarks that the relationship between China and São Tomé and Príncipe should be set as an example of cooperation between a large country and a small country, as well as for south-south cooperation.
Fonseca said that the signing of the memorandum would further strengthen the amicable ties between the two sides, and added that his district would create beneficial conditions for partnerships with Macao to solidify.
São Tomé and Príncipe (“Saint Thomas and Prince”) have about 220,000 inhabitants, around 40 per cent of whom live in Água Grande (“Large Water”). The two-island country, which gained independence from Portugal in 1975, is a member of the Macao-based Forum for Economic and Trade Cooperation between China and Portuguese-speaking Countries. High-quality chocolate is one of the country’s best-known export items, The Macau Post Daily reported.
