Macau, 2 December 2019
The Macau European Chamber of Commerce commemorated the sixth anniversary of its establishment today at a cocktail reception held at MGM Macau, celebrating the special moment with distinguished guests and members.
The cocktail celebration was attended by Mr. Lionel Leong, Secretary for Economy and Finance of the Macau SAR Government; Ms. Zhu Hong, Deputy Director-General of the Economic Affairs Department of the Liaison Office of the Central People’s Government in the Macau SAR; Mrs. Irene Va Kuan Lau, President of the Macau Trade and Investment Promotion Institute, and Consuls General representing European countries.
Since its establishment, the Chamber has been serving as a facilitator of relations and collaborations between the European Union (“EU”) and Macau through a board range of activities. For example, in March this year, MECC organised a visit to the Portuguese pharmaceutical plant Hovione in Macau; and in October, the MECC’s board of directors visited the Centre for Innovation and Entrepreneurship at the University of Macau. MECC has also received delegations of the Irish and Hungarian chambers of commerce in January and September respectively. Furthermore, MECC was invited to a high-level luncheon hosted by Ambassador Carmen Cano, Head of EU Office in Hong Kong and Macau in November.
Dr. Ambrose So, Honorary Consul of Portugal in Hong Kong and Honorary Chairman of MECC, said in his speech during the cocktail celebration, “Upon the twentieth anniversary of Macau’s return to China, we celebrate MECC’s sixth anniversary. We are dedicated to building strong Macau-Europe ties through friendship, culture and business. We embrace every effort put on deepening the understanding of diverse cultures, just as Macau has been enabling for nearly 500 years. Therefore, in addition to promoting trade relations between Macau, China and Europe, we must facilitate cross-cultural experiences such as those embedded in the East-meets-West design of SJM’s upcoming Grand Lisboa Palace. ”
Ambassador Carmen Cano, Head of the EU Office to Hong Kong and Macau, said: “Our European companies are already very active in a wide range of sectors of the economy but we can bring additional European know-how, business ideas and economic strategies to Macau. Keeping our strong cooperation is extremely important. The MECC, the national chambers, our businesses, Macau government and the European Union Office, share a same goal, to make business and cooperation thrive. Tonight we celebrate our achievements and look forward to the opportunities that lie ahead.”
Ambassador Paulo Cunha Alves, Consul General of Portugal in Macau and Hong Kong and Honorary Chairman of MECC, said, “The relations between Macau and the EU are based on a great deal of commerce and cooperation that allows EU members to collaborate in the areas of industry, investment, science and technology, energy, information and education. It is worth mentioning that tourism, an important economic sector to Macau, was the first area of cooperation between the EU and Macau since 1999. It is also important to underline the constant work of cooperation among Macau and the Portuguese-speaking countries, where important progress has been made in multiple areas. The MECC continues to perform an important role in identifying business opportunities for European companies in the region, acting as the middleman to foster networks, mutual knowledge and information exchange.”
President of the Board of Directors of MECC, Mr. Carlos Simões, said in his speech, “Founded six years ago, MECC has assumed a special role with the business community during this short period of time. Through the contribution of the national chambers and of its members, MECC is working to become a lighthouse to guide European businesses coming to Macau and the wider Greater Bay Area, and to give voice and light to the concerns and achievements of the European ventures and companies in Macau.”
The MECC sixth anniversary cocktail event was supported by Ocean Gardens as a Premium Sponsor, and has received generous sponsorship from multiple companies in the private sector, as honorary and special sponsors of the event.
Left to right
– Ambassador Paulo Cunha Alves, Consul General of Portugal in Macau and Hong Kong and Honorary Chairman of MECC
– Mrs. Irene Va Kuan Lau, President of Macao Trade and Investment Promotion Institute
－ Ms. Zhu Hong, Deputy General Director of the Economic Affairs Department of the Liaison Office of the Central People’s Government in the Macau SAR
－Mr. Lionel Leong, Secretary for Economy and Finance of Macao S.A.R.
– Ambassador Carmen Cano, Head of European Union Office to Hong Kong and Macao and Honorary Chairwoman of MECC
– Dr. Ambrose So, Honorary Consul of Portugal in Hong Kong and Honorary Chairman of MECC
– Mr. Carlos Simões, President of Board of Directors of MECC
Upper row (left to right)
-Mr. Jeffrey Ho, Vice President of General Assembly
-Mr. Niall Murray, Vice President of Board of Directors
-Mr. Carlos Alvares, Vice President of Board of Directors
-Mr. Henry Brockman, Vice President of Board of Directors
-Mr. Andrew Evans, Treasurer of Board of Directors
-Mr. Rutger Verschuren, Secretary of General Assembly
-Mr. Filipe Santos, Secretary of Supervisory Board
Bottom row (left to right)
-Mr. Carlos Simões, President of Board of Directors
-Prof. Kevin Thompson, Vice President of Supervisory Board
-Dr. Jose Luis de Sales Marques, Honorary Member of MECC
-Ambassador Paulo Cunha Alves, Honorary Chairman of MECC
-Ambassador Carmen Cano, Honorary Chairwoman of MECC
-Dr. Ambrose So, Honorary Chairman of MECC
-Mr. Bernie Leong, Vice President of Board of Director of MECC
-Ms. Bolormaa Ganbold, President of General Assembly
-Mr. Lino Ho, Vice President of Board of Director