The Chief Executive, Mr Ho Iat Seng, met with the Rector of the University of Lisbon, Mr Luís Ferreira, at the Government Headquarters in Macao. They exchanged views on deepening cooperation respectively in scientific research, teaching, the training of talented people, and promoting the development of higher education in the two places.

At the meeting held on Wednesday (26 July), Mr Ho expressed his thanks for the warm reception by Rector Ferreira during his visit to the University of Lisbon in April this year.

Macao has a good foundation and advantages supporting sustainable development regarding teaching of the Portuguese language, academic research, and the training of tourism professionals. In recent years, higher education institutions in Macao and Portugal had implemented a number of cooperation projects, further consolidating partnership in the fields of higher education, and science and technology. Mr Ho noted the University of Macau and the University of Lisbon had signed a cooperation agreement in the field of medicine, and said he hoped that the two parties would work together to accelerate relevant projects.

In tandem, Macao would continue to play its platform role between China and Portuguese-speaking countries, to promote academic and scientific research collaboration among higher education institutions in mainland China, Macao and Portugal, said Mr Ho. Macao would also step up effort to promote high-quality exchanges between higher education institutions in mainland China and Portugal.

Rector Ferreira said his visit to Macao had enabled him to learn about the rapid development in recent years of Macao’s higher education institutions in various fields, including the setting up of several State Key Laboratories, and breakthroughs in scientific research.

The University of Lisbon is the largest public higher education institution in Portugal, with a long history. The University’s research in the field of medicine was top-ranked when measured worldwide, thanks to its advanced laboratories and a number of world-class scientific research projects. It was expected that the University of Lisbon and the University of Macau would further enhance cooperation in the field of medicine. This would in turn help contribute to Macao’s work in scientific research, academic development, and cultivation of a greater number of talented people, said Rector Ferreira.

The University of Macau’s Rector, Mr Song Yonghua, and Vice-Rector, Mr Rui Martins, also attended the meeting.