Chief Executive John Lee today led a business delegation comprising representatives from Hong Kong and Mainland enterprises to begin a visit to Uzbekistan.

Mr Lee and the delegation arrived in Tashkent, Uzbekistan, last night and met Uzbek Minister of Foreign Affairs Bakhtiyor Saidov.

Mr Lee and Mr Saidov jointly witnessed an exchange of notes between the two places on a mutual visa-free arrangement, which would allow a visa-free period of 30 days for visitors from both sides.

The governments of both places will immediately advance discussions of the detailed arrangements to strive for early implementation. Mr Lee said he looked forward to the early advancement of the relevant visa-free arrangement with Uzbekistan.

This morning, Mr Lee met Uzbek Prime Minister Abdulla Nigmatovich Aripov and Deputy Prime Minister Jamshid Khodjayev to discuss ways to deepen economic and trade exchanges and co-operation.

Mr Lee said that he was pleased to have the opportunity of meeting them in Uzbekistan for the first time, following his earlier meeting the Prime Minister and Deputy Prime Minister in Hong Kong, when they led their delegations to visit the city.

The Chief Executive noted that Hong Kong and Uzbekistan are respectively important gateways for trade and investment in the Asia-Pacific and Central Asian regions. The two places can leverage their complementary strengths to further enhance economic and trade co-operation and help enterprises explore broader markets.

Mr Lee highlighted that Hong Kong has been deepening economic and trade ties with its trading partners through its overseas Economic and Trade Offices, adding that he looks forward to further strengthening bilateral co-operation with Uzbekistan in various areas in the future.

Afterwards, Mr Lee met Uzbek Advisor to the President of Uzbekistan on Strategic Development Sardor Umurzakov to exchange views on deepening co-operation between Hong Kong and Uzbekistan.

At noon, Mr Lee met Uzbek President Shavkat Miromonovich Mirziyoyev to discuss furthering co-operation.

Mr Lee stressed that Hong Kong will continue to play its roles as a “super connector” and a “super value-adder” to further deepen co-operation and exchanges with Uzbekistan on various fronts in line with Uzbekistan's goal of achieving high-quality development.

He noted that the two places will join hands in seizing the opportunities from the joint development of the Belt & Road Initiative and promoting common development between the two places and the Central Asian region.

Mr Lee invited Uzbekistan to stage its major conferences and key projects in Hong Kong in the form of Asian chapters or roadshows. He also encouraged more young people from Uzbekistan to study in Hong Kong, building a stronger foundation for long-term co-operation between the two places through education, cultural and people-to-people exchanges.

Mr Lee said that Hong Kong is actively developing into an international gold trading centre, attracting the storage, clearing and delivery of gold in Hong Kong and building a comprehensive gold trading ecosystem.

He outlined that Uzbekistan has abundant gold reserves, and that Hong Kong can provide strong support to Uzbekistan in areas such as gold trading, reserve allocation and professional services, and create more mutually beneficial business opportunities for the two places.

In the afternoon, Mr Lee attended a luncheon hosted by the Uzbek Ministry of Investment, Industry & Trade to discuss ways to facilitate business matching and expand market opportunities between enterprises of the two places.

In the evening, the Chief Executive attended a business dinner and a signing ceremony for memoranda of understanding, where he introduced Hong Kong's development opportunities and business advantages to local political and business representatives.