Recently a delegation from the Guangdong Province Human Resources and Social Security Department (the Department) paid a visit to the Social Security Fund (FSS) and both sides exchanged ideas on social security affairs between Guangdong and Macao.

A nine-member delegation of the Department led by Director Ou Zhenzhi paid a visit to the FSS on 19 December, and were warmly received by Ip Peng Kin, President of the FSS Administrative Committee. The delegation included Lin Yingwu and Zhang Fengqi, Deputy Directors of the Department. Mr. Ip said that in pace with the increasingly frequent economic cooperation and exchange of personnel between Guangdong and Macao, a cooperation mechanism under the “Guangdong-Macao Cooperation Framework Agreement” (the Agreement) should be developed for exchanges about social security affairs in the two places, so that both regions can find out ways to solve the issue of convergence on social security for the people who cross-border to work and live in Guangdong Province and Macao. The FSS will strengthen exchanges and cooperation with the Department in the future, and hope that technical studies and a cooperation mechanism on related issues can be carried out this year.

Mr. Ou Zhenzhi said that taking advantage of the opportunities created by the Agreement, the counterparts of the two regions, Macao and Guangdong Province, should strengthen ties with each other, in order to exchange ideas and share experiences, so that the knowledge and understanding about the social security systems of the two regions can be further enhanced.

During the meeting, Ieong Iun Lai, head of the Department of Social Security, and Chan Pou I, head of the Division of Contributions, introduced to the delegation the double-tier Social Security System in Macao, which include the first tier, Social Security System, and the second tier, Central Savings System. Then, both sides exchanged views about the cooperation of social security affairs in the two regions.