Lisbon, April 22, 2026 (Lusa) - Macau’s head of government, Sam Hou Fai, said on Wednesday he deepened cooperation between China, Macau and Portugal during his official visit to Lisbon.
He said that for the first time in nearly 27 years, since the 1999 sovereignty transfer, a Macau leader met "the four national heads of executive, legislative and judicial powers."
Sam Hou Fai told journalists his programme "aimed to deepen friendship and promote cooperation, achieving positive results and intended goals".
The Macau leader arrived in Lisbon on Saturday. He met Portugal's president, António José Seguro, the speaker of parliament, José Pedro Aguiar-Branco, Prime Minister Luís Montenegro, and the Supreme Court head, João Cura Mariano, along with several ministers.
Sam Hou Fai reaffirmed Macau's role as a bridge for China-Portugal relations during these meetings.
"Portugal’s leaders acknowledged that Macau plays an important role as a platform in strategic and cooperation relations between China and Portugal, and expressed a desire to further use the unique functions and advantages of this platform," he said.
He said Portugal's government showed particular interest in creating a platform to allow Chinese and Macau companies to use Portugal as a gateway to new markets in Africa, Europe and Latin America.
They also explored "the possibility of promoting collaboration between Macau and Portugal's companies to explore markets in the Iberian Peninsula." "China-Portugal cooperation faces the future and will create better development opportunities," he said.
Bilateral talks covered trade, economy, tourism, legal systems, business and talent training, judicial assistance, financial services and technological innovation.
Sam Hou Fai also noted "positive responses" regarding Portugal's participation in "four major projects" that the Macau Special Administrative Region (SAR) will start soon.
He did not detail the projects but said Portugal's business sector sees initiatives "full of potential."
Regarding human resources, Sam Hou Fai hopes to attract candidates from Portugal and other Portuguese-speaking countries to join the Macau workforce, which currently has about 500,000 people.
He also discussed the seventh Macau-Portugal Joint Commission meeting with authorities as a priority to maintain historical ties dating back more than four centuries, although they have not yet set a date.
DGYP/LYT // ADB.
Lusa
