At the invitation of the Minister for Sport and Recreation of the Northern Territory Australia, Vice President of the Macao Sport Development Board José Tavares attended the first Chef de Mission Meeting of the 2011 Arafura Games on 12th April in Darwin, Australia on behalf of the Board.

The 2011 Arafura Games will be held from 7th to 14th May. The Chef de Mission Meeting was attended by delegates from eleven countries and regions including Australia, Brunei, Fiji, Indonesia, Macao China, New Caledonia, Papua New Guinea, the Philippines, Thailand, Chinese Taipei and East Timor. Several issues were discussed at the meeting including the organisation and participation of the 2009 Arafura Games, and the proposed sports and participation plans and status of different countries and regions of the 2011 Arafura Games, etc. The Arafura Games Organising Committee hoped that the Games would serve as a development and competition platform for young people and potential athletes from the Asia Pacific region. Delegation heads also exchanged opinions on many issues at the meeting.

The Arafura Games is a large-scale multi-sport sports event held every two years in Darwin, Australia, in which several countries and regions from the Asia Pacific region send athletes to participate. Macao has participated in the Arafura Games eight times since 1993. In the 2009 Arafura Games, Macao’s delegation participated in 11 sports, winning 23 gold medals, 20 silver medals and 11 bronze medals.

The next Chef de Mission meeting will be held in Vietnam at the beginning of next year.