CE meets members of National Assembly of France (with photo)

     The Chief Executive, Mrs Carrie Lam, accompanied by the Secretary for Commerce and Economic Development, Mr Edward Yau, met with the President of the France-China Friendship Group of the National Assembly of France, Mr Buon Huong Tan, Vice Presidents of the National Assembly Ms Carole Bureau-Bonnard and Mr Hugues Renson, and three members of the National Assembly at Government House this afternoon (March 13). The Consul General of France in Hong Kong and Macau, Mr Alexandre Giorgini, also attended the meeting.

     Mrs Lam said she was pleased to meet again with Mr Tan and members of the National Assembly. She welcomed their visit after making the invitation during her trip to France last June, so that they could learn about Hong Kong's latest developments. Mrs Lam said her visit to France last year was a great success. Aside from meeting the France-China Friendship Group of the National Assembly of France, she also called on the French Prime Minister, the Minister of Foreign Affairs and people from different sectors to highlight Hong Kong's advantages and development opportunities, thus laying the foundation for further collaboration between Hong Kong and France. She said she believed that the visits and exchanges made in Hong Kong by members of the National Assembly in the coming few days would help strengthen the links between the two places and offer co-operation in further areas.

     Noting that one of the major events in her trip to France last year was to attend the joint promotion seminar on the Guangdong-Hong Kong-Macao Greater Bay Area co-organised by the governments of Guangdong, Hong Kong and Macao, Mrs Lam said she was pleased to learn that people from the French political and business sectors had a strong interest in this key national development strategy. Pointing out that the Outline Development Plan for the Guangdong-Hong Kong-Macao Greater Bay Area was promulgated last month, she said Hong Kong will play a vital role, especially in leveraging its advantages to establish an international innovation and technology (I&T) hub in the Greater Bay Area. Adding that France has some of the world's top universities and a solid foundation in scientific research, she expressed the hope that Hong Kong would continue to strengthen co-operation with France in I&T to jointly seize the huge opportunities presented by the development of the Guangdong-Hong Kong-Macao Greater Bay Area. In addition, she said that Hong Kong is striving to strengthen its role as a cultural hub and she looks forward to enhancing co-operation in culture and arts with France.