The Asia Cultural Co-operation Forum+ 2025 successfully concluded today, gathering cultural ministers and senior officials from a record-high 17 countries to exchange views on strategies in promoting arts and cultural development.

Five of the countries, including Belt & Road countries outside of Asia, for the first time, partcipated in the forum organised by the Culture, Sports & Tourism Bureau, fully demonstrating Hong Kong’s role as a super-connector and East-meets-West centre for cultural exchange.

This morning, participating delegations at the forum joined the plenary session to discuss the topics “From Connect to Create: Platform for Synergy” and “From Create to Engage: Arts for Everyone”.

With the experience sharing and real case studies of local speakers and delegations, participants were encouraged to discuss how the establishment of platforms and promotion of community engagement facilitate the development of the arts and cultural scene and ecology, the benefits of wider public engagement in arts and cultural activities, as well as the possible directions and measures to make this happen.

At the panel yesterday, Secretary for Culture, Sports & Tourism Rosanna Law, and Vice Minister of Culture & Tourism Gao Zheng shared their vision, policies and strategic directions on the ways to promote development of arts, culture and creative industries, nurture talent for the industries, drive innovative collaborations as well as advocate cultural integrations.

Over 20 bilateral meetings were conducted at the forum. Miss Law, Permanent Secretary for Culture, Sports & Tourism Vivian Sum, and Under Secretary for Culture, Sports & Tourism Raistlin Lau held bilateral meetings on cultural co-operation with representatives from participating countries.

The delegations visited the Hong Kong Palace Museum at the West Kowloon Cultural District (WKCD) this afternoon to gain first-hand knowledge of the WKCD’s latest developments and toured the special exhibition “The Forbidden City & The Palace of Versailles: China-France Cultural Encounters in the 17th & 18th Centuries”.