The Government of the Macao Special Administrative Region (SAR), the Liaison Office of the Central People's Government in the Macao SAR, and the Guizhou Provincial Government, have signed a further nine agreements regarding cooperation on poverty alleviation for Guizhou Province.

The agreements were signed on Tuesday (23 June) after an online tripartite meeting to discuss the topic. The meeting involved participants from Beijing, Guiyang and Macao.

Deputy Director of the State Council Leading Group Office of Poverty Alleviation and Development Mr Hong Tianyun; the Secretary for Social Affairs and Culture of the Macao SAR, Ms Ao Ieong U; Deputy Director of the Liaison Office of the Central People’s Government in the Macao SAR, Mr Yao Jian; and Vice Governor of Guizhou Province Mr Wu Qiang, were among the attendees of the online meeting.

The agreements covered the Macao SAR Government’s support efforts for the remainder of 2020 in terms of combatting poverty in Congjiang County, Guizhou. They involved respectively exploration of traditional Chinese medicine; donations for the construction of educational facilities; promotion of the Portuguese language; establishment of philanthropic activities; actions to combat poverty by stimulating consumption in the local economy; contribution of medical equipment; and improvements to the local environment.

In Tuesday’s meeting, Secretary Ao Ieong underlined that the Macao SAR Government had been taking an active role in the combatting of poverty in Guizhou Province, as a part of the SAR’s responsibilities toward the country’s revitalisation.

The Secretary stated the Macao SAR Government would make every effort to overcome the challenges arising from the COVID-19 pandemic. Such an approach would help Macao in its ongoing effort to consolidate cooperation with Guizhou in combatting poverty there, and assist in expanding the scope of cooperation between the two places, as well as encouraging further participation from the Macao community with regard to poverty alleviation in Guizhou.

In relation to poverty alleviation cooperation in Guizhou, Macao had been stepping up effort in areas such as education, medical services, tourism, culture and support for certain industries. These efforts had achieved positive results, added Ms Ao Ieong.

The Liaison Office’s Mr Yao said in an address that the principle for poverty-alleviation cooperation between Macao and Guizhou involved making use of Macao's advantages in order to meet the needs of Congjiang. A set of 18 agreements endorsed previously had been implemented and achieved good outcomes at community level.

The Liaison Office of the Central People's Government in the Macao SAR would continue to provide active support for Macao and Guizhou in order for the two places to overcome difficulties created by the COVID-19 pandemic. Such effort would help further the implementation of cooperation projects, contributing to eradicate poverty in Guizhou, Mr Yao added.

During the meeting, Vice Governor Wu expressed his sincere gratitude to the Macao SAR for its strong support over the years regarding poverty alleviation. He added he looked forward to advancing cooperation in labour affairs, in combatting poverty through consumption, and in education promotion, in order to boost Guizhou’s economy and the development of its society.

Mr Hong from the State Council Leading Group Office of Poverty Alleviation and Development said Tuesday’s meeting had occurred at a critical moment for poverty alleviation, and demonstrated not only the progress in Macao and Guizhou cooperation on poverty alleviation, but also Macao’s integration into the country’s overall development and the SAR’s contribution to fighting poverty in the country.

He added he hoped that the three sides would continue to promote cooperation and create further mechanisms for long-term communication, in order to advance cooperation in the fields of talent development, tourism, culture, economic matters and commerce.