Co-organised by Training Centre of Forum Macau (Centro de Formação do Fórum de Macau) and City University of Macau (CityU), the Closing Ceremony of the Workshop on Capacity of Small and Medium-sized Enterprises (SMEs) from the Portuguese Speaking Countries (PSCs) (Colóquio de Capacitação das Pequenas e Médias Empresas dos Países de Língua Portuguesa) was held at the Multifunctional Room of the Permanent Secretariat to the Forum for Economic and Trade Co-operation between China and Portuguese-speaking Countries (Forum Macau) on 28th April 2016.

The Ceremony began with speeches by Deputy Secretary-General (appointed by Portuguese Speaking Countries) of the Permanent Secretariat of Forum Macau, Mr Vicente de Jesus Manuel; Rector of CityU, Professor Shuguang Zhang; and Representative of the Workshop, Mr Rafael de Andrade e Silva Campelo; followed by the presentation of Certificates to the 24 participants who have successfully completed the Workshop.

In his speech, Rector Zhang said: ‘SMEs, which constitute the backbone of Macau’s economy, have long been receiving substantial support from the Macau SAR Government, for business cooperation with the PSCs. Meanwhile, the implementation of CEPA and Macau’s close relationship with the PSCs have further brought into play the role of Macau as a service platform for economic and trade cooperation between China and the PSCs, and therefore diversifying Macau’s economy through the “bringing in” of business from the PSCs and the “going out” of SMEs in Macau and Mainland China. With the full attention of the Central Government, Macau has launched the development of the “Three Centres” of the Commercial and Trade Cooperation Service Platform between China and PSCs, namely "Commercial and Trade Service Centre for SMEs of PSCs", "Food Product Distribution Centre for PSCs", and "Centre for Conventions and Exhibitions for Economic and Trade Cooperation between China and PSCs", which has further strengthened Macau's role as a platform for economic and trade cooperation between China and the PSCs'. Rector Zhang highly believed that the Workshop would be conducive to the trade cooperation amongst SMEs in the PSCs, Mainland China and Macau.

Also attending the ceremony were Secretary-General of the Permanent Secretariat of Forum Macau, Mr Chang Hexi; Head of the Trade Office of the Economic Affairs Department of the Liaison Office of the Central People’s Government in the Macau SAR, Ms Gong Youying; Deputy-Coordinator of the Policy Research Office of the Commissary of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of the People’s Republic of China, Mr Li Yang; Consul General of Angola in Macau, Ms Sofia Pegado da Silva; Consul General of Moçambique in Macau, Mr Rafael Custodio Marques; Honorary Consul of Guiné-Bissau in Macau, Mr John Lo; Deputy Secretary-General (appointed by Macau SAR Government) of the Permanent Secretariat of Forum Macau, Ms Cristina Morais; Co-ordinator of the Executive Office of the Permanent Secretariat of Forum Macau, Ms Zhang Jie; Representatives of the PSCs from Forum Macau; Registrar of City-U, Professor Sean Li; Director of Open Institute of CityU cum Secretary General of the Council of CityU, Mr Robert Chan; Executive Associate Dean of Open Institute of CityU, Dr Gavin Chau; and Director of Department of Portuguese Language and Culture of Portuguese-speaking Countries of CityU, Dr Rui Rocha.

The Workshop, taking place from 15^th – 28^th April, is the first of its kind organised by the Training Centre of Forum Macau this year. A total of 24 participants have enrolled on the Workshop, representing authorities, associations, and companies from Brasil, Cabo Verde, Guiné-Bissau, Moçambique, Portugal, and Timor-Leste.

The participants attended a series of lectures related to SMEs development, fiscal policy, international trade, and e-commerce; and visited a number of government departments, associations and companies in Macau, Jiangmen, and Guangzhou. Also, the participants took part in the 'Dynamic Macau Business and Trade Fair – Guangdong Jiangmen' on 21st – 22nd April, and joined a 'Roundtable Discussion on the SMEs in Mainland China, Macau and PSCs' with invited guests Mr Eduardo Ambrósio, President of International Lusophone Markets Business Association (Associacao Comercial Internacional para os Mercados Lusofonos); Mr Duarte Alves, Director of Excelsius Investments Macau; and Mr Jorge Valente, Executive Director of JV-Tech Macau on 27^th April.