School exchange: Secretary for Education Michael Suen meets Singapore Minister of Education Dr Ng Eng Hen.

Hong Kong needs determination and creativity to build on its foundations to ensure a bright future for the city and its people, Secretary for Education Michael Suen says.

Delivering a keynote speech at a Hong Kong Economic & Trade Office dinner in Singapore tonight, Mr Suen spoke about Hong Kong's latest endeavours to nurture its home-grown talent. He said the city must capitalise on its strengths to better equip its youth with broad-based knowledge, a lifelong learning attitude, and skills to respond to an ever-changing world.

He spoke about the vital role governments have to play in preparing young people for future challenges, outlining the new initiatives Hong Kong has taken in the primary, secondary and tertiary sectors.

"We need to emphasise and encourage greater interpersonal relationships and communication skills. We also need to go back to basics to instil a deeper sense of moral values to ensure mental discipline and character building," Mr Suen said.

"As a city with virtually no natural resources, Hong Kong regards human capital as its main asset. Lots of efforts are being made to nurture our home-grown talent. Like Singapore, Hong Kong places a high priority on education. Education [is] the single largest area of government expenditure [in] Hong Kong."

Conference calls

Mr Suen also held meetings with Singapore's Minister of Education Dr Ng Eng Hen. They discussed the development of education services and the provision of them to students, including those from overseas.

He visited Nanyang Primary School to inspect its work with gifted students and Bedok View Secondary School to see how it has enhanced its teaching and learning through a close-knit circle of teachers.

In a meeting with the Economic Development Board, Mr Suen was briefed by its Executive Director Human Capital Toh Wee Khiang on the Global Schoolhouse initiative. The board is one of the key agencies in marketing and promoting Singapore education overseas.

Mr Suen returns to Hong Kong tomorrow.