The Chief Executive, Mr Sam Hou Fai, met with the Minister of Education, Mr Huai Jinpeng, to exchange views on advancing Macao’s development of educational services, and the orderly establishment of the Macao-Hengqin International Education (University) Town.
At the meeting held at Government Headquarters on Thursday (14 August), the Chief Executive welcomed Minister Huai and his delegation to Macao, expressing gratitude for the Ministry of Education’s longstanding support for the region’s educational initiatives.
Mr Sam mentioned Macao’s determined effort in implementing the directives of President Xi Jinping’s important speech during his inspection of Macao, in particular, promoting appropriate economic diversification, enhancing the transformation of academic and research achievements, expanding international collaboration in higher education, deepening regional partnerships, and exploring sustainable exchange programmes, to position Macao as a hub for international high-end talent.
The Chief Executive noted the Macao Special Administrative Region (MSAR) Government is committed to the governance philosophy of “letting Macao thrive through education, building Macao with talented individuals". Efforts were being made to integrate education, technology, and talent development to cultivate new quality productive forces.
The MSAR Government is advancing the Macao-Hengqin International Education (University) Town, with a view to injecting momentum into Macao’s sustainable development and creating a better environment for nurturing the younger generation, as the region integrates into national development strategies.
Meanwhile, effort is being applied in relation to a number of key projects in the Guangdong-Macao Intensive Cooperation Zone in Hengqin. These include: the construction of an additional campus for the University of Macau; a regional centre of technology transfer and commercialisation to be available for use by tertiary education institutions nationwide; and the planned establishment by the end of the year of a sub-centre in traditional Chinese medicine. Mr Sam expressed hope for continued support from the Ministry of Education to deepen collaboration relating to Macao’s long-term development of education.
Those attending the meeting included the Secretary for Social Affairs and Culture, Ms O Lam; the Chief-of-Office of the Chief Executive’s Office, Ms Chan Kak; and Acting Director of the Education and Youth Development Bureau, Mr Teng Sio Hong.
Representatives from the Ministry of Education present at the meeting included: the Director of the Department of Hong Kong, Macao, and Taiwan Affairs and Director of the Department of International Cooperation and Exchanges, Mr Yang Dan; the Director of the Department of Higher Education, Mr Zhou Tianhua; the Director of the Department of Science, Technology, and Informatisation, Mr Zhou Daiwang; and Deputy Director of the Department of International Cooperation and Exchanges (Hong Kong, Macao, and Taiwan Affairs), Mr Chen Dali.
The Director of the Fourth Bureau of the Hong Kong and Macao Work Office of the Communist Party of China Central Committee, and the Hong Kong and Macao Affairs Office of the State Council, Mr Chen Wei, also attended the meeting.
While in Macao on Friday, Minister Huai, accompanied by Secretary O, conducted a field visit to the Cooperation Zone in Hengqin to review the planning of the Macao-Hengqin International Education (University) Town, the allocation of land for educational use, and the development framework for the Macao sub-centre in traditional Chinese medicine.
