Macau Yearbook 2013 - Macao Yearbook

External Relationsinternational governmental organisations (see Appendix 11, “Multilateral Treaties Applicable tothe Macao SAR”, for details).On regional and international laws, the Government began negotiations with the Hong KongSAR Government in 2012 on the signing of the Arrangement on Reciprocal Recognition andEnforcement of Arbitration Awards, regarding confirmation of the documents to be signed. TheGovernment also followed up on mutual legal assistance agreements with other countries, completedthe implementation reports on several rights conventions, such as replies to the list of questions onthe first report of the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights, and began preparatorywork for Macao’s first participation in the deliberation meeting of the United Nations Human RightsCouncil as an individual member under the name “Macao, China”.Macao and the European UnionOfficial relations between Macao and the EU have been steadily built on the foundation of theMacao-EC Trade and Cooperation Agreement signed in 1992. Macao has maintained good relationswith the EU in terms of economic and trade affairs ever since the establishment of the MSAR.The Macao Economic and Trade Office at the Brussels headquarters of the EU seeks to enhanceMacao’s relationship with the organisation.Under their agreement, Macao and the EU may cooperate in industry, investment, scienceand technology, energy, information, training and other areas. A Joint Committee established byboth parties holds an annual meeting to review the implementation of the agreement and discussits future development. The meeting venue alternates between Macao and Brussels, and 17 suchsessions have been held to date. A great deal has been achieved through this form of cooperation.According to statistics compiled by the European Commission: since the agreement was signed,the EU has funded cooperative projects with Macao worth around one million euros per annum.The projects have included: training for the tourism industry (1999-2001); a European studiesprogramme (1999-2001); a services development programme (1999-2001) on advising Macaoon improvement of the local services sector; the Asia-Invest programme (2001 and 2002); andthe EU-Macao Legal Cooperation Programme (2001-2005). During 2006, funded by the MSARGovernment, the Directorate General for Interpretation (SCIC) of the European Commissionprovided training on translation and interpretation. In 2009, with regard to legal cooperation betweenthe MSAR and the European Commission, a new protocol on the second phase of legal cooperationprojects was signed between the two parties. This commenced in 2010, and is effective for threeyears. The EU Business Information Programme has been held from 2009 to 2012; and the EUAcademic Programme began in 2012.Also, joint projects inaugurated by Macao and the EU were: the Macao-Europe Centre forAdvanced Tourism Studies (ME-CATS) and the Institute of European Studies of Macao.Since its establishment in 1992, the Euro-Info Centre has provided specialist services to enableSMEs in Macao, Hong Kong, the Pearl River Delta and neighbouring regions to obtain usefulinformation about Europe.In October 2006, the European Commission published the Communication from the Commission141