Macau announced on Monday (6) that Angolans will be able to enter the region without obtaining a visa in advance, a move that, according to the Angolan Chamber of Commerce in Macau (CCAMO), will facilitate business travel.
The two jurisdictions will sign an agreement on mutual visa exemption, according to an executive order signed by Macau’s Chief Executive, Sam Hou Fai.
The order, dated July 2 but published this Monday in the Official Gazette of Macau, grants the Secretary for Administration and Justice, Wong Sio Chak, “all necessary powers” to conclude the agreement with the Government of Luanda.
The president of the CCAMO General Assembly, Pedro Lobo, stated that the measure “could greatly help trade relations (…), especially with the consulate closing.”
In May, the Angolan Ministry of Foreign Affairs announced the closure of four consulates, including the one in Macau, citing overstaffing at its overseas missions and budget constraints as the reasons.
Angola’s consul in the Chinese region, Eduardo Velasco Galiano, also served as Angola’s delegate to the Forum for Economic and Trade Cooperation between China and Portuguese-Speaking Countries (Macau Forum).
“Relations between Macau and Angola have been growing closer for quite some time,” said Pedro Lobo, but the measure will “alleviate some of the instability and uncertainty” surrounding business travel.
The CCAMO official confirmed that “there have always been problems” with travel between the two locations and recalled the case of Angolan businesspeople who “had to turn back because they did not have a visa to transit through Hong Kong.”
Despite “high expectations,” Lobo argued that the visa waiver will only have a significant impact if direct passenger flights are established between Angola and Macau or the neighboring regions of Hong Kong and Guangzhou.
Angola will become the fourth Portuguese-speaking country—after Portugal, Brazil, and Cape Verde, whose citizens already benefit from visa exemptions—to benefit from this arrangement with Macau.
Source: Lusa
