– Being a delegate at Forum Macau is a unique experience; far from your home country, in a multilateral forum, in direct contact with China, from Macau. Regardless of your political and economic analysis, do you feel like a different person five years on?
Gika Simão – That’s unquestionable; I leave Macau a different person; the opportunities I’ve had I wouldn’t have had if I hadn’t been here. That’s why Macau is so important as a platform; I would never have known China the way I did. It’s true that if I had been in China, I would have had that opportunity, but doing it from Macau gives us a broader view. We have both sides, getting to know China as a whole, from the perspective of “One Country, Two Systems”. Macau resembles other systems around the world; but you also have China and its peculiarities, with its very special system. That makes me someone who can talk about China, but also about Macau as a platform.
– Many people in Macau doubt – or don’t understand – this opportunity. And there is a lot of criticism of Forum Macau, mainly because of the lack of concrete results. How can this image be reversed?
G.S. – In fact, the problem centers on the results. But first we have to congratulate Forum Macau. I have to say that it was one of the most ingenious ideas that China has come up with; bringing together all the Portuguese-speaking countries in the same space; working together, with a focus on the business world. Once again, I would like to congratulate the Chinese government on this achievement. The ideas are perfect, very well conceived. Perhaps the problem is the speed with which you want to implement these ideas. People feel that there is still a lot to be done; the implementation process should be faster. To begin with, Macau has to realize that the platform is important, that it gives it spectacular comparative capital at regional level. Macau must seize this opportunity.
– Some consider the Sino-Portuguese platform to be Macau’s greatest asset in the Greater Bay Area. Do you agree?
G.S. – Absolutely! From a business point of view, there is enormous potential in terms of products. In the case of São Tomé, I’m talking about cocoa, chestnuts… In Mozambique, Guinea-Bissau, Angola and other countries, there is a lot of potential in what they produce. And Macau can make use of that; in other words, passing them through here to get to China. That’s the logic. Macau is a free trade area, exempt from many taxes. However, we need to move from talk to reality, fulfilling the ideas behind the creation of the Forum.
– Where can we act, as a priority, to turn this discourse into reality?
G.S. – I think it has to do with the dialog between Macau and China itself. However, before that, Macau businesspeople have to see it as an opportunity. They can’t just be mediators; they have to invest in Portuguese-speaking countries. Macau’s business community has the capacity, know-how, knowledge and means to do this. But it’s not doing it, or it’s doing it very timidly.
– What is holding back Macau’s entrepreneurs?
G.S. – Firstly, they don’t know these countries or their business world. But in any investment process there are stages; and that’s where the role of the Forum delegates comes in, who are here to facilitate this knowledge. One of our main activities is to publicize the business opportunities in our countries; in Macau and in the interior of China. And the business community in Macau has an opportunity that the one in mainland China doesn’t have. The delegates live here, live together here, have their families settled here; all the services can be produced in Portuguese… But there needs to be a closer relationship between businesspeople and delegates; if we don’t understand this, we won’t be able to achieve a firmer, more cohesive interconnection.
– What would you change about the internal organization of the Forum itself?
G.S. – The Forum is 20 years old, and it has made several advances; it has even broadened its range of intervention. It was first intended to be just economic, but it has expanded into cultural cooperation, traditional Chinese medicine, and other areas. This means that things are working. Now, in order to energize the process, we need to move from talk to concrete things. The Forum is often used to talk about cooperation between Macau, China and the Portuguese-speaking countries, but these countries are not consulted in this process. Cooperation protocols are signed, but we are not even informed.
– It’s said that, in business, a protocol is nothing more than a dead letter…
G.S. – We have several examples of this. Many memorandums of understanding have been signed and they don’t work.
– Aren’t the Chinese authorities, the Macau authorities and the delegates aware of this?
G.S. – First of all, we have to make it clear that the Macau authorities are right; they have been playing their part to the best of their ability; they are creating the conditions for the platform to work. Now, the Macau business community needs to take greater advantage of this, which is not happening. Or perhaps by finding partnerships with financial muscle inside China. We have half a dozen businessmen, who are the same people… and that’s about it. We talk, we talk, and things don’t move forward. I would like to appeal, above all, to the younger generations, who have a responsibility to continue this process. Our countries have many young, entrepreneurial businesspeople who want to work and expand their products. There is a huge market in China, but there are also opportunities abroad, with differentiated products that are important. China doesn’t produce cocoa of the size and quality that São Tomé does, and there are many other products to enter and make a difference through Macau.
– What failed with the Cooperation Fund?
G.S. – Maybe they haven’t found the right path yet. The Cooperation Fund was launched a few years after the Forum was created, but apart from countries like Brazil, Portugal or Angola, none of the smaller countries have been able to submit eligible projects, for various reasons. First, there are the conditions and rules. We don’t know them all, we only know part of the rules. We don’t know the most important part, the part that leads to the decisions.
– Do you get there and fail?
G.S. – As you don’t know all the rules, you don’t know for sure which is the best project to present. Even so, and it did happen, there were countries that submitted projects. But they weren’t elected, they weren’t funded, absolutely nothing happened. It is true, and it has to be said, that recently, before the Ministerial Conference, there was a new orientation for the Fund. We were told that they are now focusing on projects in small countries; or those whose business matrix is weaker. Because of this, they are traveling to these countries, so that the Fund can better understand the reality and adapt the rules. There is a new opportunity here, because the current framework is really frustrating for countries that don’t see their projects approved.
– Isn’t there also a lack of experience and critical mass in these countries?
G.S. – If the possibility of seeing your project approved is real, partnerships are arranged, because people are interested. But when that’s not the case, nothing is done at all. I’m hopeful about this new guideline; I have a lot of faith that it will actually happen. As part of this new guideline, there is also talk of the possibility of scaling back the amounts allowed, which are often very high. But this discussion only came to the table because of pressure from the delegates, who for years have been pushing for the need to also look at the smaller countries that are part of the Forum.
– It is often said that the Portuguese-speaking countries, especially the smaller ones, only come to ask for money, and that some reciprocity is needed. In other words, bringing investment to Macau and the Greater Bay Area. Is it possible to expect Lusophone investment?
G.S. – All over the world, when it comes to cooperation, whether it’s business cooperation or other cooperation, if the parties are willing, everything works. And cooperation is working well; that’s the most important thing. Once it’s working, the obstacles are overcome. I don’t think it’s a problem; I have no evidence to suggest that it is. But if it is a problem, within the framework of cooperation these issues will be overcome. Cooperation allows the parties to talk to each other, look at the bottlenecks and redefine new strategies. As the Chinese say, what is needed is mutual gain.
