Chief Executive Edmund Ho affirmed today (21 August) that the development of Hengqin had been agreed upon by the Governments of the MSAR and Guangdong Province, yet it required thorough planning and a solid infrastructure to be properly realized.

The Chief Executive, who led a delegation to Guangdong for a meeting between high ranking officials of Guangdong and the Macao SAR, held a joint press conference with the Governor of Guangdong province, Lu Ruihua.

He said that support from the Guangdong Provincial Government in public order, tourism and the economy were important to the stable development of Macao, along with support from the Central Government and great effort from the local residents.

He said that the two Governments had already agreed on the development of Hengqin Island, which was important to the future of both Macao and Guangdong, but added that thorough planning was needed to achieve the best result.

He also said that issues such as cooperation, global planning, infrastructure development and the introduction of mass investment would be discussed later.

Besides the development of Hengqin Island, the Chief Executive said that other topics discussed in the meeting included plans for the bond-zone between Macao and Guangdong, development and integration of the traffic network between the two territories and cooperation in the areas of culture and tourism.

Significant progress had been made in the meeting, said the Chief Executive.

Concerning the bond-zone between Macao and Guangdong, the Chief Executive said that it was the wish of the SAR government to give local industries the opportunity to benefit from the cooperation between the two territories, yet the plan would need to be studied and to be approved by the Central Government.

The Chief Executive referred to the cooperation between Macao and Guangdong as a "brotherhood," saying that it would benefit both territories.