Bright future for ties with Portuguese-speaking nations

Gastáo de Sousa, minister of planning and strategic investment of Timor-Leste, talked about the immense opportunities and challenges that lie ahead for his nation. "Timor-Leste stands at a pivotal juncture in its development journey, with infrastructure playing a crucial role in our strategic vision for sustainable growth and prosperity," he said.

"We are keen to explore opportunities for public-private partnerships, joint ventures, and knowledge exchange to advance our infrastructure agenda," de Sousa added.

"China and Portuguese-speaking countries have carried out fruitful cooperation in traditional infrastructure fields such as transportation, electricity, telecommunications and energy," said Ji Xianzheng, secretary-general of the Permanent Secretariat of the Forum for Economic and Trade Cooperation between China and Portuguese-speaking Countries (Macao).

"Chinese companies have completed contracted projects with a cumulative turnover of $140 billion, making important contributions to improving people's livelihood and promoting economic recovery."

At the same time, green transformation and the application of digital and intelligent innovative technologies have injected new momentum into promoting cooperation between China and Portuguese-speaking countries in green economy, digital economy, high-tech and other fields, Ji added.

Vincent U, president of Macao Trade and Investment Promotion Institute, pointed out that Shandong province, Macao SAR and Portuguese-speaking countries can collaborate in green infrastructure. He said that Macao's current focus is on promoting a moderately diversified economic development strategy.

The 6th Ministerial Conference of the Forum for Economic and Trade Cooperation between China and Portuguese-speaking Countries (Macao) was successfully held in Macao from April 21 to 23.

Ministers from the participating countries signed the Strategic Plan for Economic and Trade Cooperation (2024-27) to support the participating countries in continuing to strengthen cooperation in the field of infrastructure, recognizing the value of organizing a parallel forum during each International Infrastructure Investment and Construction Forum by the Permanent Secretariat of Forum Macao.