MSAR, Portugal ink co-operation deals

Two co-operation agreements in the sectors of tourism and food monitoring were signed by representatives of the Macau and Portuguese governments at Government Headquarters yesterday.
The Secretary for Social Affairs and Culture, Alexis Tam Chon Weng, on behalf of the MSAR Government, signed the agreement on tourism co-operation with Manuel Caldeira Cabral, the Minister of Economy of Portugal.
This tourism agreement between the two parties seeks to create more opportunities for investment and jobs, to elevate the partnership between the MSAR and Portugal, and to improve the economic development of both regions.
The agreement encourages co-operation between travel agencies and associations of the two regions. In addition, it supports the parties’ tourism advertising and promotion, in addition to providing tourism-related training and assisting staff to acquire professional qualifications.
The Portuguese official remarked yesterday that the tourism agreement will create a number of advantages, such as the building of bridges between Macau and Portugal, no matter in the field of tourism promotion or the development of travel companies of both regions.
He believes that the agreement will encourage the exchange of experience of the two regions.
Food-safety co-operation
Meanwhile, the Secretary for Administration and Justice, Sonia Chan Hoi Fan, inked a co-operation agreement monitoring food safety with the Portuguese economy minister.
The agreement signed by Secretary Chan seeks to strengthen the exchange of information about food safety between the two regions in order to further improve the confidence of consumers.
“We wish the agreement would strengthen the co-operation,” Secretary Chan said. “In terms of food safety and food quality, as well as training personnel, we wish we could do better in order to meet international standards and to ensure the public is at ease”.
Minister Cabral perceives the good performance of food safety will lead to the growth of the tourism industry such as the development of restaurants due to the improvement in confidence of customers to consume food from the two regions.
The MSAR and Portugal recently inked a co-operation framework agreement in May 2001. This is not the first time that the MSAR Government has signed co-operation deals with Portuguese-speaking countries.
The Macau Government signed Tourism Co-operation Memorandums with the Republic of Cape Verde, Guinea-Bissau and the Republic of Mozambique in 2010, and with the Democratic Republic of Timor-Leste in 2013 and the Republic of Angola in 2015.