The Chief Executive, Mr Ho Iat Seng, is to visit Portugal from 18 to 22 April, leading a Macao Special Administrative Region (MSAR) Government delegation and a Macao entrepreneur delegation. The MSAR Government delegation will then go on to visit other places in Europe: Luxembourg, and Brussels in Belgium, before returning to Macao on 27 April.

The MSAR Government looks forward to strengthening ties with those countries in terms of economic and trade issues, and cooperation in tourism, education, and cultural affairs; as well as bolstering promotion of Macao in Europe.

While in Lisbon, the Portuguese capital, the Chief Executive will meet with the President of the Portuguese Republic, Mr Marcelo Rebelo de Sousa; the Prime Minister, Mr António Luís Santos da Costa; and the Minister of Foreign Affairs, Mr João Gomes Cravinho.

In Luxembourg, the MSAR Government delegation will meet with the country’s Prime Minister and Minister of State, and respectively Minister for Communications and Media, Minister for Religious Affairs, Minister for Digitalisation, and Minister for Administrative Reform, Mr Xavier Bettel.

On the final stop, in Brussels, Belgium, Mr Ho will visit the headquarters of the European Union, and meet officials from there. While in Brussels, Mr Ho will also meet with Belgium’s Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of the Economy and Employment, Mr Pierre-Yves Dermagne; and the Minister-President of the Government of the Brussels-Capital Region, Mr Rudi Vervoort.

After the Lisbon leg of the trip, the Macao entrepreneur delegation will travel to Porto in Portugal, led by the Secretary for Economy and Finance, Mr Lei Wai Nong. There, it will visit several local enterprises in a bid to bolster bilateral ties in economic and trade matters.

Other members of the MSAR Government delegation will include: the Secretary for Transport and Public Works, Mr Raimundo do Rosário; the Chief-of-Office of the Chief Executive’s Office, Ms Hoi Lai Fong; and the Chief of Office of the Secretary for Economy and Finance, Ms Ku Mei Leng; and other director-level officials.

During Mr Ho’s absence, the Secretary for Administration and Justice, Mr Cheong Weng Chon, will be Acting Chief Executive.