Chief Executive John Lee met the Secretary-General of the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) and senior government officials from Belt & Road countries on September 13 and 14, who are visiting Hong Kong for the eighth Belt & Road Summit.

At the meeting with Republic of Kazakhstan Minister of Trade & Integration Arman Shakkaliyev yesterday, Mr Lee said that Kazakhstan is one of Hong Kong's most important trading partners in Central Asia.

He encouraged more Kazakhstani enterprises to partner with Hong Kong enterprises and make use of the city's advantages to venture into the Mainland and other markets.

This was followed by a meeting with General Secretariat of the Council of Ministers of Saudi Arabia Advisor Fahd bin Abdulmohsan Al-Rasheed.

Noting that the formal negotiations on an Investment Promotion & Protection Agreement between Hong Kong and Saudi Arabia have commenced since his visit to Saudi Arabia in February, Mr Lee expressed hope for the early completion of the relevant work such that the economic and trade co-operation between the two places would scale new heights.

Mr Lee then met ASEAN Secretary-General Kao Kim Hourn who he was pleased to see again after his visit to Jakarta, Indonesia, in July.

He thanked Mr Kao for his continuous support for Hong Kong's accession to the Regional Comprehensive Economic Partnership (RCEP). The Hong Kong Special Administrative Region Government will maintain close communication with the ASEAN Secretariat on relevant issues.

Mr Lee also held talks with Egypt's Minister of International Cooperation Rania A Al-Mashat.

He pointed out that with Hong Kong's advantages as a professional services and fund-raising platform, the city can contribute to Belt & Road projects in Egypt, including the Central Business District project in Egypt's new administrative capital.

The Chief Executive also said he looks forward to strengthening co-operation between the two places in order to explore more new opportunities.

Meeting with Hungarian Minister of Foreign Affairs & Trade Péter Szijjártó, Mr Lee noted that Hungary is Hong Kong's seventh largest trading partner among the European Union member states, with bilateral merchandise trade between Hong Kong and Hungary amounting to HK$17.8 billion last year, adding that the Hong Kong SAR Government will continue to promote Hong Kong's advantages and opportunities to more Hungarian enterprises.

The Chief Executive also hosted a networking dinner at Government House yesterday evening to discuss promoting the Belt & Road Initiative. Guests included representatives of political, business and professional sectors of Hong Kong, Office of the Commissioner of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs in the Hong Kong SAR Deputy Commissioner Fang Jianming, Mr Kao, senior government officials from Belt & Road countries who came to Hong Kong to attend the summit, and consuls-general and honorary consuls of various countries in Hong Kong.

This morning, Mr Lee met Vietnamese Minister of Planning & Investment Nguyen Chi Dung and thanked Vietnam for its continued support for Hong Kong's accession request to the RCEP.

Mr Lee pointed out that Vietnam is Hong Kong's seventh largest trading partner, noting that Vietnam's economy has grown significantly in recent years.

He encouraged more enterprises in Vietnam to co-operate with their counterparts in Hong Kong and make good use of the city's advantages as the most open international city in the Guangdong-Hong Kong-Macao Greater Bay Area (GBA) to explore the immense investment opportunities in the Mainland.

The Chief Executive held talks with United Arab Emirates Minister of Economy Abdulla Bin Touq Al Marri this afternoon where he highlighted that the UAE is Hong Kong's largest trading partner in the Middle East, adding that he believes there is much room for forging economic and trade ties between the two places.

He also hoped that more enterprises in the UAE would capitalise on Hong Kong's distinctive advantages under “one country, two systems” and its world-class infrastructure and professional talent to seize the opportunities brought about by the Belt & Road Initiative and the GBA development.

Mr Lee added that the eighth Belt & Road Summit concluded successfully with fruitful achievements.

“Hong Kong will continue to leverage its distinctive advantages of enjoying strong support of the motherland and being closely connected to the world, proactively integrate into national development, and consolidate and develop its status as an international city, with the view to continuously contributing to the promotion of the development of the Belt & Road Initiative.”