Civil Service College holds thematic briefing session on “International Landscape and China’s Foreign Relations in 2021” (with photos)

     The Civil Service College today (December 17) held a thematic briefing session on "International Landscape and China's Foreign Relations in 2021" jointly with the Office of the Commissioner of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs (OCMFA) in the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region (HKSAR). The briefing was delivered by the Commissioner, Mr Liu Guangyuan. The session was attended by the Chief Executive, Mrs Carrie Lam, and around 400 senior officials, including Secretaries of Departments, Directors of Bureaux and other politically appointed officials, as well as Permanent Secretaries, Heads of Departments, and other senior directorate officers of the HKSAR Government. This session also heralds a series of talks to be launched next year on the country's foreign affairs.
 
     Addressing the session, Mrs Lam expressed her gratitude to the OCMFA for its great support to the HKSAR by actively running and participating in activities of different kind. She said that it is important for about 400 senior officials attending the session today, as members of the HKSAR's governing team, to better understand the country's history, foreign policy and latest developments as well as the evolving international landscape, and to consciously safeguard national security and interests in their day-to-day work. She hoped that colleagues could acquire more relevant knowledge and broaden their horizons through the session.
 
     As stated in the Policy Address Supplement this year, the Civil Service Bureau will collaborate closely with the OCMFA to enhance training for civil servants in learning more about the country's foreign affairs, so as to deepen their understanding of the international scene and the country's positioning. This will enable them to act in better concert with the country's foreign affairs policy in handling the relevant areas of work. To this end, the Civil Service College will launch together with the OCMFA a series of talks next year covering different topics on the country's foreign affairs.
 
     The Secretary for the Civil Service, Mr Patrick Nip, said during the session, "The Civil Service College, which was newly established on December 9, will provide various training programmes for civil servants to reinforce their sense of national identity and deepen their capability for broad and strategic thinking, so as to nurture more talents in governance, promoting with full steam Hong Kong's integration into the national development and working together to build a better future for Hong Kong."
 
     Apart from civil service training, with the support of the Central People's Government and the assistance of the OCMFA, the first batch of five young public officers has been sent to work in the capacity of Chinese personnel in different agencies of the United Nations (UN) under the UN Junior Professional Officer Programme. This marked a great breakthrough of Hong Kong young people entering the international arena. The HKSAR Government is making preparations to send the second batch of officers, and will continue to work with the OCMFA and arrange more young public officers to take part in the above programme.