Macao will make top-down efforts to better its English-language education in a bid to train English-speaking talent for the country, vowed Kong Chi-meng, director of Macao SAR Government Education and Youth Development Bureau, on Friday.

Kong made the pledge before an audience of diverse backgrounds attending the 2023 Global English Education China Assembly, which kicked off at the City University of Macau on Friday. The event runs until Sunday.

He also gave a keynote speech at the opening ceremony, which was attended by people engaged in English education worldwide.

The annual assembly was held outside the Chinese mainland for the first time since its establishment in 2018.

"It was an acknowledgment of Macao's standard of education and an honor for the city," Kong said.

The English language, which is a global lingua franca, plays an important role in Macao's bid to become a world language hub, Kong said.

The Macao SAR government is encouraging higher-education institutions to strengthen internationalization to improve their positioning, he said. In the meantime, high schools in Macao have doubled down on courses using English as a medium of instruction.

He ended his speech by calling on the audience to contribute their wisdom and strength to advance English education through the assembly, which he believes is an important platform in this regard.