The “2020 Macao International Environmental Co-operation Forum & Exhibition” (2020MIECF), hosted by the Government of the Macao Special Administrative Region (SAR) and co-organised by the governments in the Pan-Pearl River Delta (PPRD) Region, will be held in Macao from 26 to 28 March 2020. Representatives of the host’s co-ordinators, namely the Macao Trade and Investment Promotion Institute (IPIM) and the Environmental Protection Bureau (DSPA), travelled to Guangzhou on 19 July 2019 to take part in a meeting with parties from the PPRD Region, regarding co-ordination of the event. The meeting was aimed at enhancing the effectiveness of 2020MIECF by brainstorming and exchanging ideas on the event’s theme, the exhibitors’ products, the event’s technical requirements, and the negotiation and business-matching sessions to be held there.
A total of 44 representatives from various organisations attended the co-ordination meeting. They included: representatives from the Secretariat of the PPRD Regional Cooperation Chief Executive Joint Conference; provincial/regional representatives of the National Development and Reform Commission; officials of the Ministry of Industry and Information Technology of the People’s Republic of China; representatives of public departments of environmental protection; and members in the PPRD of the China Association of Environmental Protection Industry.
At the meeting, the Deputy Director of DSPA, Vong Man Hung, noted optimisation efforts had been pursued in relation to the staging of 2019MIECF. That had been done after last year taking into account the well-considered views of PPRD Region representatives, and it had helped boost the effectiveness of the event. The organisers expected MIECF to continue to play its role as a platform promoting environmental exchanges and co-operation. That could be achieved via the event’s commitment to strengthening the transfer of environmental technologies and to acting as a driver of sustainable development in countries and regions covered by the “Belt and Road” initiative. That would also be applicable in relation to the PPRD Region; the Guangdong-Hong Kong-Macao Greater Bay Area (Greater Bay Area); Portuguese-speaking Countries; European countries; and the rest of the world.
IPIM's Executive Director, Sam Lei, noted that – due to MIECF’s important platform role on behalf of the environmental sector, as well as the event’s role as a key platform to promote regional economic development – every edition of MIECF had organised specific exchange sessions, some of them outside the event venue. The 2019MIECF had included: “Green Finance Networking”; the “Official Guided Tour and Government Procurement Matching Sessions”; and post-event tours to inspect environmental projects and technologies of renowned environmental protection enterprises in cities of Mainland China. All these activities had been very well received by participants. The coming 2020MIECF would contribute to the advancement of the Greater Bay Area by driving forward a larger number of innovative and performance-based activities than ever, as well as bringing in a larger number of renowned environmental enterprises from the Greater Bay Area, in order to boost regional co-operation in the field of environmental protection.
MIECF is a significant platform for environmental co-operation established jointly by provinces and places in the PPRD Region. Based on past successful experiences, all involved from the PPRD Region hope to continue to strengthen their respective partnerships and exchanges with a variety of counterparts at 2020MIECF, including those from European countries that will be attending the event. The fresh business opportunities arising from the development of the Greater Bay Area will also help enhance for attendees the competitive edge of MIECF.
