Chief Executive Carrie Lam today met visiting Kaohsiung City Mayor Han Kuo-yu and hosted a lunch for him at Government House.

Secretary for Constitutional & Mainland Affairs Patrick Nip and Acting Secretary for Commerce & Economic Development Bernard Chan were also present.

Mrs Lam welcomed Mr Han's first trip to Hong Kong after his assumption of office to attend an agricultural product promotion event later today and conduct other visits.

She pointed out Hong Kong and Taiwan are major trading partners with frequent trade, economic and people-to-people exchanges.

Hong Kong is an international financial, trade, transportation and logistics centre, Mrs Lam said, adding many Taiwanese enterprises have established a presence here, covering financial services, innovation and technology, catering and consumer products, to leverage Hong Kong's advantages to open up the Mainland and overseas markets.

The Chief Executive said she welcomes more high-quality agricultural and fisheries products to be exported from Kaohsiung to Hong Kong, or re-exported via Hong Kong to other places in the future.

She hoped Mr Han's visit will boost exchanges between Hong Kong and Kaohsiung, presenting more room for co-operation.