The two-day Forum for Economic and Trade Cooperation between China and Portuguese-speaking countries, the first of its kind, ended yesterday in the Macao Special Administrative Region (SAR).

Speaking at the closing ceremony, Chinese Vice Minister of Commerce An Min said the Action Plan for Economic and Trade Cooperation between China and Portuguese-speaking countries will set the guideline for promoting facilitated bilateral trade in the future.

The forum was sponsored by the Chinese Ministry of Commerce and attended by ministerial-level officials from seven Portuguese-speaking countries -- Angola, Brazil, Cape Verde, Guinea Bissau, Mozambique, Portugal and East Timor.

The two sides agreed to continue to open up wider for trade; actively expand and protect mutual investment; strengthen cooperation in agriculture, fishing, engineering, animal husbandry as well as information and technical exchanges; step up inter-governmental co-ordination and set up a permanent forum office to oversee the implementation of member countries' commitments.

The ministers from the seven countries expressed their hopes for a sound implementation of the action plan in 2006, when they are scheduled to meet at the second ministerial-level meeting of the forum.

Jose Luis Arnaut, assistant to Portuguese Prime Minister Jose Manuel Durao Barroso, said the forum enabled various parties to continue their cooperation on the existing basis of bilateral trade with China. Strengthening relations with China is an important part of the forum's work.

Angolan Commerce Minister Victorino Domingos Hossi said the forum offers China and Portuguese-speaking countries a convenient means and channel for economic and trade cooperation. The action plan signed at the forum created a new opportunity for development on the basis of mutual benefits.

The Chinese vice-commerce minister told the participants the Chinese central government and the Macao SAR government have been closely working on the Closer Economic Partnership Arrangement (CEPA), which will soon come out to promote trade ties between the Chinese mainland and Macao.

The trade pact would help make Macao a platform serving China's foreign trade with the world, especially Portuguese-speaking countries, he added.

(Xinhua News Agency October 15, 2003)