The Chief Executive of Macao, Sam Hou Fai, met on 21 April at the Belém Palace in Lisbon with the President of the Portuguese Republic, António José Seguro. The meeting focused on promoting more comprehensive and high-quality co-operation between Macao and Portugal in areas such as the economy, trade, culture, education and tourism, reinforcing Macao's role as a bridge between China and Portugal.

According to a statement from the Macao government, Sam Hou Fai congratulated António José Seguro on his recent election and inauguration as President of the Republic, expressing appreciation for the recognition given to the "one country, two systems" principle in Macao. He also emphasised the commitment to strengthening co-operation with Portuguese-speaking countries and to hosting the 7th Ministerial Conference of the Forum for Economic and Commercial Co-operation between China and Portuguese-Speaking Countries (Forum Macao) next year.

In turn, António José Seguro highlighted the deep friendship between Portugal and Macao and the importance of strengthening exchanges in areas such as culture, tourism and Portuguese language teaching. The President also suggested studying the feasibility of a direct air link between Portugal and Macao and expressed anticipation for the next meeting of the Macao-Portugal Joint Commission, expressing the hope that a concrete date for its scheduling will be set soon.

(Source: Teledifusão de de Macau, on 22 April)