Chief Executive John Lee today received Prime Minister of Uzbekistan Abdulla Nigmatovich Aripov and his delegation at Government House as they arrived in Hong Kong for economic and trade events.

The leaders discussed further strengthening co-operation between Hong Kong and Uzbekistan.

Mr Lee noted that Hong Kong is a functional platform for the Belt & Road (B&R) Initiative, while Uzbekistan is a major country in Central Asia with abundant natural resources, a strong labour force, and experience in rapid economic growth. As the two places are both active participants in the Belt & Road Initiative, there is vast potential for co-operation.

The Chief Executive said Hong Kong will continue to leverage its unique advantage of having the strong support of the motherland and being closely connected to the world under the “one country, two systems” principle, deepen international exchanges and co-operation, proactively explore B&R markets, and further strengthen collaboration with Uzbekistan in different areas, in order to jointly seize the opportunities brought by the B&R Initiative.

Mr Lee told the prime minister that Hong Kong is making every effort to develop into an international innovation and technology centre and an international hub for high-calibre talent, apart from being an international financial, shipping and trading centre. The city offers a highly internationalised and market-driven business environment, being the world’s fifth-largest trading entity in merchandise trade economy, and ranking No. 1 in the world in economic freedom.

There is vast potential for co-operation between Hong Kong and Uzbekistan, Mr Lee added, as Uzbekistan’s economy is growing rapidly and is vigorously promoting infrastructure development.

Mr Lee encouraged Uzbek enterprises to establish a presence in Hong Kong and leverage the city’s advantage in connecting with both the Mainland and the world to explore more business opportunities.

He emphasised that Hong Kong will continue to play its roles as a “super connector” and a “super value-adder”, to work with Uzbekistan to explore more business opportunities for mutual benefit and win-win outcomes.

Mr Lee also welcomed more young people from Uzbekistan to come to Hong Kong for further studies and career development, to further promote people-to-people and cultural exchanges between the two places.

He noted that the city is pressing ahead to develop into an international post-secondary education hub and is the only city in the world with five universities ranked among the world's top 100.

Furthermore, the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region Government has set up a Task Force on Study in Hong Kong, and has launched the B&R Scholarship to attract outstanding students around the world.

Also in attendance at today’s meeting were Deputy Financial Secretary Michael Wong, Deputy Secretary for Justice Cheung Kwok-kwan, Secretary for Commerce & Economic Development Algernon Yau, and Director of the Chief Executive’s Office Carol Yip.