MACAO - The Ministry of Foreign Affairs of China and the Government of the Macao Special Administrative Region jointly held a symposium on external legal affairs on Friday, seeking new opportunities for legal development and exchanges.

The symposium themed "New Achievements, New Opportunities, New Actions: Commemorating the 25th Anniversary of Macao's Return to the Motherland" was attended by some 370 officials, scholars, students, and association representatives.

Cheong Weng-chon, secretary for administration and justice of the Macao SAR government, said the SAR will use its advantages to better serve the country's overall development, and carry out exchanges and cooperation with foreign countries in a multichannel manner, said the official

Good work in the SAR's external legal affairs is important to building the country's foreign-related rule of law and essential to Macao's law-based governance, said Miao Deyu, assistant minister of foreign affairs of China. He added that it is significant for ensuring the steady and long-term development of "one country, two systems" and the SAR's long-term stability.

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United Nations (UN) Undersecretary General for Legal Affairs and UN Legal Counsel Miguel de Serpa Soares said via video that the Sino-Portuguese Joint Declaration and its subsequent implementation have vividly demonstrated how countries can hold peaceful negotiations with such tools as international law, and offered innovative and pragmatic options for resolving various complex and historic issues.

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At the symposium, Cheong Weng-chon, secretary for administration and justice of the Macao SAR government, stressed that the SAR will firmly guard the bottom line of national security and promote the sustainable development of Macao's economy and society. In addition, the SAR will use its advantages to better serve the country's overall development, and carry out exchanges and cooperation with foreign countries in a multichannel manner, said the official.