Mr José Manuel Durão Barroso, Former President of the European Commission, will visit Macao and receive an honorary professorship from Macao Polytechnic Institute (MPI). Mr Durão Barroso, world-renowned politician and expert in international affairs, was born in 1956 in Lisbon. Being a successful scholar and professional diplomat in Portugal he was elected to be a member of the Portuguese Assembly in 1985, following which he was appointed Secretary of State for Foreign Affairs and Cooperation in 1987, Minister of Foreign Affairs in 1992, and Prime Minister of Portugal in April 2002. In November 2004 he was elected to be President of the European Commission.

Mr Durão Barroso appreciates the importance of relations with China and visited the country three times during his term as Portuguese Foreign Minister, in 1993, 1994 and 1995. He has also visited China and met with Chinese counterparts several times in his position as President of the European Commission. He noted that Europe and China enjoy extensive common interests and a broad cooperative space, and that bilateral cooperation in various fields is making constant positive progress.

Mr Durão Barroso believes that Europe should engage in efforts with China to promote Europe-Asia cooperation and jointly address global challenges, pushing forward the continuous development of Europe-China relations in a more vigorous manner. During his meeting with Chinese President Xi Jinping in Brussels on 31 March, 2014 he noted that EU-China relations are of strategic and prospective significance and enjoy a sound momentum in their development. The EU appreciates China’s support for Europe during difficult times, supports China’s development and prosperity, cares about China’s reform and opening-up initiatives, and is willing to be an all-round strategic partner. Mr Barroso’s devoted efforts have greatly contributed to the sound development of EU-China relations and the realization of the “EU-China 2020 Strategic Agenda for Cooperation”.

Mr Durão Barroso also values relations with Macao and has met with Dr Fernando Chui Sai On, Chief Executive of Macao SAR, in both Brussels and Macao. He expressed the view that cooperation between the EU and Macao had attained significant results in the past 20 years. He also said that the EU and China are important partners, and because of Macao’s uniqueness and the successful implementation of the “One Country, Two Systems” principle, the SAR plays an important role in the sustainable development of relations between the EU and China. On this basis the EU and Macao have actively promoted advances in several cooperative projects.

Highly respected internationally for his significant contribution in leading the EU and promoting world peace and global development, Mr Durão Barroso is a recipient of many awards and medals from around the world including, amongst others, honorary professorships from more than 10 institutions of higher education in Europe, America and Latin America. This is the first time he receives an honorary title from a higher education institution in China.