The Chief Executive, Mrs Carrie Lam, met a number of senior officials from the Mainland and overseas at Government House separately yesterday and today (June 27 and 28), who are visiting Hong Kong for the third Belt and Road Summit jointly organised by the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region (HKSAR) Government and the Hong Kong Trade Development Council. They included the Deputy Prime Minister of Thailand, Dr Somkid Jatusripitak; the Chairman of the State-owned Assets Supervision and Administration Commission of the State Council (SASAC), Mr Xiao Yaqing; the Vice Minister of Commerce, Ms Gao Yan; and the National Security Advisor, Union Minister for the Ministry of the office of the Union Government and Chairman of the Myanmar Investment Commission, the Republic of the Union of Myanmar, U Thaung Tun. Mrs Lam thanked them for the staunch support for the Summit and exchanged views with them on future co-operation in the context of the Belt and Road Initiative.
Mrs Lam hosted a dinner for Dr Somkid at Government House yesterday evening. She said she has visited Thailand twice and met with Dr Somkid for the third time since taking office, signifying the growing relationship between Hong Kong and Thailand. She particularly thanked the Thai government for responding positively to her proposal in the Policy Address delivered last year to establish in Bangkok the third Hong Kong Economic and Trade Office (ETO) in the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN). She was grateful for the Thai government’s co-operation, enabling good progress of the work. Both parties agreed at the meeting to work towards the common goal of putting the ETO into operation at the beginning of next year.
Mrs Lam met with Mr Xiao before attending the Belt and Road Summit this morning. She thanked Mr Xiao for his unlimited support for Hong Kong, including organising the chief executives and senior management from over 170 state-owned enterprises (SoEs) to participate in the seminar on "Strategies and Opportunities under the Belt and Road Initiative – Leveraging Hong Kong's Advantages, Meeting the Country's Needs" organised by the HKSAR Government and the Belt and Road General Chamber of Commerce at the Great Hall of the People in February this year, and leading a delegation to take part in the Belt and Road Summit this time. Mrs Lam expressed the hope that with the support of the SASAC, more SoEs will make use of Hong Kong as a platform to explore together business opportunities brought by the Belt and Road Initiative.
In the afternoon, Mrs Lam met U Thaung Tun at the Chief Executive’s Office. She said the visit to Myanmar last September, the first visit by a Chief Executive since the establishment of the HKSAR twenty years ago, was very fruitful. Noting that the ASEAN, including Myanmar, lies in the Belt and Road and has great development potential, she said that many Hong Kong companies should be interested in expanding investment in Myanmar. She said the HKSAR Government which strives to consolidate the results of the last visit will enhance co-operation with Myanmar in various areas including trade, investment, tourism, culture and education. She said that Hong Kong, as an international city, is very willing to share its experience with Myanmar in various aspects, including clean governance, city management, aviation safety and railway operations, to foster the people-to-people bonds between the two places as a contribution to the Belt and Road Initiative.
In the evening, Mrs Lam hosted a dinner at Government House for Mr Xiao, Ms Gao and other guests from the Mainland attending the Belt and Road Summit. Thanking Mr Xiao and Ms Gao for sharing their insights to enrich the Summit, she said she hopes they will continue to support Hong Kong’s full participation in the Belt and Road Initiative to inject new impetus to the economy of Hong Kong, the country and the world.
Follow this news feed: East Asia