Macau and Portugal on Tuesday signed two cooperation agreements, one on food security and the second in the field of tourism, with the latter stipulating that companies that are already in Macau may also invest in Portugal, according to the local press.
Quoting the Minister of Economy of Portugal, who signed both documents, the Tribuna de Macau newspaper, wrote that this second protocol is also intended to “encourage joint promotion at a time when there will be direct flights between Portugal and China, so there may be more Portuguese tourists visiting China and obviously Macau.”
The agreement, signed by the Macau Secretary for Social Affairs and Culture, Alexis Tam, also advocates the “possibility of opening new routes, cooperation agreements for mutually attracting foreign investment and also aspects that are important in terms of knowledge transfer and information sharing,” added Minister Manuel Caldeira Cabral.
On the possibility of a more direct route to southern China, rather than just connecting Lisbon and Beijing, the minister believes that “first we should work to make the route due to be launched in June a reality and then promote a direct route to southern China.”
According to Cabral, “the companies themselves will be mindful of the success of the first route and, therefore, we are working to ensure that this route is a success.”
The minister also indicated that the Chinese market is not only one of the fastest growing, it also involves “tourists with a high average spend, who do a lot of shopping and like to stay in good hotels.”
The Protocol on Monitoring and Inspection of Food Activities was signed between the Secretariat for Administration and Justice of the Government of the Macau Special Administrative Region of China and the Ministry of Economy of Portugal. On the Macau side it was signed by the Secretary for Administration and Justice of the Macau SAR Government, Sonia Chan Hoi Fan.
This document aims to strengthen communication and information exchange between Macau and Portugal, in the context of food security and the strengthening of cooperation and promotion of work related to food safety.
(Macau News / Macauhub)
