Chief Executive Carrie Lam participated in the 2020 Pan-Pearl River Delta (PPRD) Regional Co-operation Chief Executive Joint Conference through video conferencing in Hong Kong today.

The conference took place in Sanya, Hainan. Mrs Lam discussed with other participants the joint promotion of high-quality development of regional co-operation in the post-epidemic era, building a modernised transport network as well as jointly creating an innovative platform for cross-system collaboration.

"The development of the Guangdong-Hong Kong-Macao Greater Bay Area is a major development strategy in the country's reform and opening up in the new era and will foster the development of the PPRD region.

“The Hong Kong Special Administrative Region's active participation in the development of the Greater Bay Area will be a key direction for reviving the economy after the epidemic," she said.

Noting that the Hong Kong SAR Government is actively taking forward the development of the bay area, Mrs Lam said the strategic focuses include consolidating the city's status as an international aviation hub and promoting its high value-added maritime services.

She also said the professional services, in particular financial and legal services, are Hong Kong's fundamental strengths and hoped the professional services sectors could assist PPRD enterprises to explore overseas markets.

The Chief Executive noted that the COVID-19 epidemic highlights the importance of developing and promoting the application of technology.

It also recognises the potential of Hong Kong's technological and innovative products and solutions to enter overseas markets, and boosted confidence in developing the city into an international innovation and technology hub in the bay area, she added.

Mrs Lam said the Hong Kong SAR Government is promoting to overseas markets the city’s experiences in applying technology to combat the epidemic and it would be pleased to share more experiences with the PPRD.