A business delegation from Macau, led by the Economy and Finance Secretary, Leong Vai Tac, will travel to Portugal to take part in the “Entrepreneurs Meeting for Economic and Trade Cooperation between China and Portuguese-Speaking Countries – Lisbon – 2018,” followed by a visit to Brazil to prospect and study business opportunities, according to the Macau Trade and Investment Promotion Institute (IPIM).

During the visit to Portugal, the delegation of about 60 people will take part in the opening ceremony of the Meeting, the thematic conference on financial cooperation and the signing ceremony of protocols and in Brazil is scheduled to visit government institutions and local companies, IPIM said.

With the theme of “China and the Portuguese-speaking Countries – Writing a New Chapter of Pragmatic Cooperation Together,” this year’s edition of the Meeting is jointly organised by the Portuguese Agency for Investment and Foreign Trade (AICEP), by the China Council for the Promotion of International Trade (CCPIT) and IPIM.

The Macau delegation will meet in Portugal with officials from government agencies in China, with heads and representatives of major financial institutions, a delegation organised by the CCPIT, as well as a delegation of more than 20 people organised by the Chinese Business Association of Macau, taking advantage of this opportunity to strengthen and promote Macau’s role as a “bridge” for economic and trade cooperation and a financial services platform for trade cooperation between China and Portuguese-speaking countries.

This year marks the 15th anniversary of the establishment of the Forum for Economic and Trade Cooperation between China and the Portuguese-speaking Countries (Macau).

The “Entrepreneurs Meeting for Economic and Trade Cooperation between China and Portuguese-Speaking Countries” is a project for negotiation and cooperation between companies, as part of the Protocol of Cooperation between Trade Promotion Bodies / Chambers of Commerce, which was signed by China, the seven Portuguese-speaking countries and Macau in October 2003 during the Forum for Economic and Trade Cooperation between China and the Portuguese-speaking Countries (Macau).

The Meeting has been held on a rotating basis in each Portuguese-speaking country since 2005.

IPIM also said that the Macau delegation, made up of about 60 entrepreneurs mainly from the financial sector, industry, retail trade, infrastructure construction and electronic commerce, will take advantage of the visit to Brazil to strengthen the exchange between industrial companies and commercial markets of the two territories and expand the market of Portuguese-speaking countries.