Tourism, culture, and education stand out as pivotal areas for expanding exchanges between France and Macau, Christile Drulhe, Consul General of France in Hong Kong and Macau, told MNA on the sidelines of the celebration of the French National Day, Bastille Day, in the SAR.
“In the cultural field, we feel that there is also potential to further develop our exchanges in the context of the strategy of Macau to diversify its economy and further integrate culture, sports, and tourism,” Ms. Drulhe noted.
Macau has been focusing on the “tourism plus” cross-sector integration, engaging visitors with a diverse range of experiences combining culture, entertainment, MICE, sports events, and gastronomy, among other activities.
France is currently Macau’s top foreign trading partner, with luxury and food and beverage playing a key role in exports of goods to the SAR, the consul general pointed out.
As Paris and Beijing celebrate this year the 60th anniversary of the establishment of diplomatic relations between France and the People’s Republic of China and the China-France Year of Culture and Tourism, Christile Drulhe stressed the importance of new academic exchange programs combining language education and cultural immersion, such as a new scholarship launched this year that is allowing a Macau student to spend the summer in France in a specially developed program.
“We hope to train more talents to build bridges in sectors of mutual interest,” said Ms. Drulhe, while noting that there has been a fruitful partnership involving French entities and the city’s cultural institutions and gaming and integrated resorts operators.
The SAR’s French community and guests celebrated Bastille Day on Saturday with a cocktail reception and dinner at Sofitel Macao at Ponte 16.
