must 25th anniversary celebrations: the belt and road initiative multi-disciplinary perspectives from academia and government
forum group photo
in celebration of the 25th anniversary of macau university of science and technology (must), the policy forum on the belt and road initiative: multi-disciplinary perspectives from academia and government was successfully held on november 28, 2024, at wynn palace. the forum was organized by the school of business (msb) at must, co-organized by the division of public policy (ppol) at the hong kong university of science and technology (hkust), and sponsored by wynn resorts (macao) s.a. this forum aims to pool wisdom to facilitate macao’s better integration into the overall national development strategy by exploring the historic opportunities created by the belt and road initiative (bri).
over 200 guests and participants attended the forum, including: mr. liu xianfa, commissioner of the office of the commissioner of the ministry of foreign affairs of the people’s republic of china in the macao s.a.r.; mr. li yongxian, deputy minister of the department of education and youth affairs of the liaison office of the central people’s government in the macao s.a.r.; mr. chi tenghui, director of the financial development bureau of the guangdong-macao in-depth cooperation zone in hengqin; mr. carlos roberto xavier, department head of the department of tertiary education of education and youth development bureau in the macao s.a.r.; mr. ji xianzheng, secretary-general of the permanent secretariat of forum for economic and trade co-operation between china and portuguese-speaking countries (macao); mr. ip kuai lam, member of administrative committee of the science and technology development fund; mr. lei sio sang, acting department head of the research department of economic and technological development bureau in the macao s.a.r.; mr. kerim sercan evcin, consul general of the republic of türkiye in hong kong; mr. riaz ahmed shaikh, consul general of pakistan in hong kong; mr. aurélio de jesus chiconela, acting consul general of the republic of mozambique in macao; mr. alidoro chenda, vice consul of the republic of angola in macao; ms. patrícia quaresma ribeiro, representative of the consul general and deputy consul for education and culture at the consulate general of portugal in macao and hong kong; chair professor joseph hun-wei lee, vice-chancellor and president of must; dr. chen ji min, vice-chairman and secretary-general of university council of must; professor of practice tong ka lok, vice-president of must; chair professor jiang zhihong, vice-president of must; mr. tsui wai kwan, chairman of the supervisory board of must foundation; ms. linda chen, president and vice chairman of the board of wynn macao limited, member of university council of must; professor naubahar sharif, head of the division of public policy at the hong kong university of science and technology; chair professor zhiwu chen, director of the hong kong institute for the humanities and social science at the university of hong kong; chair professor james z. lee, yan ai foundation chair professor, division of humanities and division of social science at the hong kong university of science and technology; chair professor francis t. lui, director of the institute of development economics at must; members of must advisory committee; and key leaders and representatives from various secondary schools, universities, and corporate organizations.
welcome address by chair prof. joseph hun-wei lee, president of must
during the opening speech, chair professor joseph hun-wei lee highlighted the role played by the bri in the common development of the world through policy communication, facility connectivity, trade facilitation, capitalization, and people-to-people exchanges with the participating countries. he also emphasized that this policy forum marks the beginning of a long-term partnership between msb and ppol to enhance public policy research through strong collaborations between hong kong and macao.
during the opening speech, chair professor joseph hun-wei lee highlighted the role played by the bri in the common development of the world through policy communication, facility connectivity, trade facilitation, capitalization, and people-to-people exchanges with the participating countries. he also emphasized that this policy forum marks the beginning of a long-term partnership between msb and ppol to enhance public policy research through strong collaborations between hong kong and macao.
keynote speech by commissioner mr. liu xianfa
in his opening keynote speech, commissioner mr. liu xianfa stated that “the bri has transformed from concept to action, from vision to reality, and has brought tangible benefits to the participating countries along the route, making it a popular platform for international cooperation”. the construction of the bri has always adhered to the principles of extensive consultation, joint contribution, and shared benefits, which is an important manifestation of the ancient “silk road spirit". as a bridge between china and portuguese-speaking countries, macao s.a.r. has unique advantages.
the forum comprised four keynote presentations and two specialized topic sessions, featuring speakers chair prof. zhiwu chen, prof. naubahar sharif, chair prof. james z. lee, chair prof. francis t. lui, consul general mr. riaz ahmed shaikh, and consul general mr. kerim sercan evcin. the speakers shared their valuable insights on six topics: “rise of the south: how arab maritime traders transformed china during 700-1400 ce”; “leveraging bri for technological upgrading”; “china’s two educational revolutions: comparing china’s top university students and top academic researchers, 1890-2023”; “the economic significance of bri”; “development opportunities for pakistan under bri”; and “overlapping multi-disciplinary opportunities in terms of bri in a wide geography”.
upper left to right: chair prof. zhiwu chen and prof. naubahar sharif
middle left to right: chair prof. james z. lee and chair prof. francis t. lui
lower left to right: consul general mr. riaz ahmed shaikh and consul general mr. kerim sercan evcin.
the round-table discussion session was moderated by prof. naubahar sharif, with guest speakers including chair prof. zhiwu chen, chair prof. james z. lee, chair prof. francis t. lui, consul general mr. riaz ahmed shaikh, and consul general mr. kerim sercan evcin. in this session, the discussants explored the effects of the bri on global and regional development.
roundtable discussion
at the closing ceremony, professor of practice tong ka lok delivered a summary of the forum and expressed hoped that this forum would contribute to building the bri in a steady and far-reaching way with high quality.
closing remarks by professor of practice tong ka lok, vice president of must