The Chief Executive, Mr John Lee, met with the Deputy Prime Minister and Minister for Trade and Industry of Singapore, Mr Gan Kim Yong, at Government House today (January 13) to exchange views on issues of mutual interest. Also attending the meeting were the Deputy Financial Secretary, Mr Michael Wong, and the Secretary for Commerce and Economic Development, Mr Algernon Yau.
Mr Lee welcomed Mr Gan's visit to Hong Kong with his high-level business delegation. Mr Lee said that Hong Kong and Singapore have maintained close and friendly ties in bilateral trade, noting that Singapore is Hong Kong's fourth-largest trading partner in the world and largest partner in merchandise trade among the member states of the Association of Southeast Asian Nations. He said he believes that Hong Kong and Singapore can enhance collaboration in areas including trade, digital economy, financial services and green technologies.
Mr Lee highlighted that Hong Kong has the distinctive advantage of enjoying strong support of the motherland and being closely connected to the world under "one country, two systems", serving as an international financial, shipping, and trade centre that benefits from opportunities brought about by key national development strategies, including the National 14th Five-Year Plan, the Guangdong-Hong Kong-Macao Greater Bay Area, and the Belt and Road Initiative. He encouraged Singaporean enterprises to make use of Hong Kong's advantages to tap into business opportunities in the Mainland market.
Mr Lee also expressed his gratitude to Singapore for its continuous support for Hong Kong's early accession to the Regional Comprehensive Economic Partnership, with a view to contributing to wider and deeper economic co-operation and integration in the region.
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