MACAO – The government of the Macao Special Administrative Region (SAR) announced Thursday that Chief Executive Sam Hou-fai will launch an official multi-stop visit to four European nations this Friday, with the aim of strengthening bilateral ties, expanding economic and cultural collaboration, and boosting Macao’s global engagement. The trip is scheduled to wrap up on April 26, and Sam will be joined by a delegation comprising senior SAR government officials and local business representatives, according to the Macao SAR Government Information Bureau.
The first stop on Sam’s itinerary is Lisbon, Portugal’s capital. During his stay in Lisbon, the chief executive is set to hold meetings with top leaders from Portugal’s executive, legislative, and judicial branches to exchange views on bilateral cooperation and shared interests. Beyond official diplomatic engagements, a planned gathering between Sam and Macao students pursuing their studies in Portugal will also be held, highlighting the SAR government’s attention to Macao students studying overseas.
Next, the delegation will travel to Madrid, Spain. In addition to holding talks with senior Spanish government officials, the Macao SAR government will organize two key public activities during this leg: a regional tourism promotion event and an economic cooperation forum. These initiatives are designed to expand the pool of international tourist source markets for Macao’s tourism sector, and create targeted opportunities for cross-border business matching between Macao, Chinese mainland and European enterprises.
On April 23, the delegation will arrive in Geneva, Switzerland, where the core goal of the leg is to reinforce Macao’s connections with major global multilateral institutions based in the city, including the World Trade Organization. The trip will then move to Brussels, Belgium, on April 24, where Sam and the delegation will meet with senior Belgian federal officials and high-ranking representatives of the European Union to discuss areas of common interest and potential future collaboration. This four-nation European visit marks a key diplomatic and economic outreach effort for the Macao SAR in 2026, aimed at leveraging Macao’s unique position as a bridge between China and the world to open up new space for high-quality development of the region.