Secretary for Home & Youth Affairs Alice Mak today met representatives of the Guangdong Youth Federation and youth federations in other municipalities to share views on enhancing youth development and exchanges between Guangdong and Hong Kong.

Under Secretary for Home & Youth Affairs Clarence Leung also joined the meeting.

Miss Mak welcomed the delegation led by Guangdong Youth Federation person-in-charge He Lulu.

The youth affairs chief pointed out that Guangdong and Hong Kong are inextricably linked, and that the Guangdong Youth Federation is the Home & Youth Affairs Bureau’s important partner and has all along supported Hong Kong's youth work.

She also noted that with the full resumption of travel between Hong Kong and the Mainland early this year, the bureau and the federation have restarted the Guangdong-Hong Kong-Macao Youth Internship Programme at Palace Museum and the Youth Internship Programme at Wolong National Nature Reserve, Sichuan.

Both programmes facilitate youth exchanges in the two places and provide Hong Kong youths with diversified, unique and in-depth thematic internship opportunities, which further enhance their knowledge of the country and encourage them to integrate into the country’s overall development, Miss Mak added.

The federation has also assisted the bureau in organising study tours in Greater Bay Area cities for Hong Kong youths.

As stated in the Youth Development Blueprint published at the end of last year, the breadth and depth of the Mainland and international internship and exchange programmes will be further strengthened. The development opportunities for Hong Kong youths in the bay area will also be expanded.

Miss Mak said she looks forward to strengthening co-operation with the federation and youth federations of municipalities, so as to jointly promote youth development and exchanges in the two places.