The Chief Executive, Mrs Carrie Lam, met the Minister of Foreign Affairs and Trade of Hungary, Mr Péter Szijjártó, and the President and Chairman of the Asian Infrastructure Investment Bank (AIIB), Mr Jin Liqun, at Government House today (January 13), expressing her gratitude to them for accepting the invitation of the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region (HKSAR) Government and the Hong Kong Trade Development Council to speak at the plenary session of the 13th Asian Financial Forum, themed "Redefining Growth: Innovation．Breakthrough．Inclusiveness", this morning.
Accompanied by the Secretary for Commerce and Economic Development, Mr Edward Yau, and the Secretary for Financial Services and the Treasury, Mr James Lau, Mrs Lam met with Mr Szijjártó at noon. Mrs Lam thanked Mr Szijjártó for supporting the HKSAR Government's strict implementation of the "One Country, Two Systems" principle and a high degree of autonomy. Given that Hungary is Hong Kong's largest trading partner in Eastern Europe and the first European country to sign an intergovernmental co-operation agreement with China on the Belt and Road Initiative, Mrs Lam said Hungary is well positioned to become a regional hub in Central and Eastern Europe under the Belt and Road Initiative and added that there is much room for further co-operation between Hong Kong and Hungary in various aspects. She said the HKSAR Government is committed to opening new markets for Hong Kong enterprises and professionals. She encouraged them to explore opportunities in Hungary and also welcomed companies from Hungary to make use of Hong Kong’s unique edge as the gateway to Mainland China and the Asian market. Pointing out that Hong Kong's start-up ecosystem has skyrocketed in the past few years, Mrs Lam said that the city is a particularly suitable place for young entrepreneurs from Hungary for development opportunities.
Mrs Lam, accompanied by Mr Lau, met Mr Jin in the afternoon. She thanked Mr Jin for his support all along for the active participation of the HKSAR as a member in providing professional and financial services for the work of the AIIB. Mrs Lam also expressed the hope that the AIIB will continue to leverage on Hong Kong's capital market, asset management professionals and variety of financial products to support its operation in various aspects including project finance, bond issuance, investment, financial management and foreign exchange management.
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