Saturday, November 10, 2007 Issue 163, Page 1 Word count: 291 Published in: Macau Daily Times
By Poyi (Natalie) Leung
The Republic of Angola became the first country to open a consulate-general in Macau since the city’s 1999 handover to China with the Secretary General of the External Relations Ministry present at the inauguration last night.
Also attended to chair the ceremony at the Fisherman’s Wharf were Chief Executive Edmund Ho Hau Wah, and Consul General of the Republic of Angola in Macau, Rodrigo Pedro Domingos.
A celebration banquet followed in conjunction with the 32nd anniversary of national independence of the African country.
Secretary General of the Republic of Angola’s External Relations Ministry, Dr Manuel Gomes dos Santos, said the People’s Republic of China had contributed significantly to his country’s economic and social development.
“China had devoted a lot of effort to Angola’s infrastructure construction and re-construction,” Dr Santos said.
In return, he said Angola had contributed to China in response to its resource demand, as well as by supporting the principle of “One China” and the policy of “One Country, Two Systems”.
Sharing the historic background of being ruled by the same colonial power for centuries, Portuguese language is still being widely spoken in both Angola and Macau.
Thus, the Consulate-General of the Republic of Angola was set up in Macau in an attempt to facilitate the business and trade platform between China and Portuguese-speaking countries or regions.
Mr Domingos said Macau enterprises and other individuals were now getting interested in operating businesses in Angola.
Apart from diamonds and oil, he said Angola had an ample supply of resources such as gold, granite, marble, quartz and asphalt.
“We hope that a cooperative relationship can be established between Angola and Macau’s small to medium enterprises,” Mr Domingos said.
The consulate-general, located in the China Plaza, will be in operation on Monday.
