Secretary for Justice Paul Lam led a cross-professional delegation comprising members of Hong Kong's legal and dispute resolution sectors, as well as the financial and accounting sectors, as they continued their visit to Tashkent, Uzbekistan, today, deepening legal co-operation between the two places.

This morning, Mr Lam met Minister of Justice of the Republic of Uzbekistan Akbar Djurabayevich Tashkulov.

Mr Lam explained how Hong Kong's advantages of being connected to the Chinese Mainland and the world, as well as its common law system, can assist Uzbek enterprises in expanding into Hong Kong, the Chinese Mainland and international markets.

A memorandum of understanding was signed by the two sides to enhance collaboration between Uzbekistan's Ministry of Justice and the Department of Justice of the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region Government. This will include exchanges on legal frameworks and policies regarding dispute resolution, as well as sharing of experiences in the application of AI technology in the legal sector.

Mr Lam then attended a lunch hosted by the Uzbek Ministry of Justice.

In the afternoon, Mr Lam visited the Center for Islamic Civilization to learn about local efforts in cultural preservation, academic research and education promotion.

On Thursday morning, Mr Lam and the delegation visited the Tashkent State University of Law and met its senior management to discuss legal talent training and exchanges.

Mr Lam then attended a lunch with Mayor of Tashkent City Umurzakov Shavkat Buranovich to introduce Hong Kong's distinctive institutional advantages under the “one country, two systems”  principle and explore opportunities for co-operation.

In the afternoon, Mr Lam and the delegation met representatives from the Uzbek Chamber of Commerce for Chinese Entrepreneurs and the Chamber of Commerce & Industry of Uzbekistan. Director of the Tashkent International Arbitration Centre Diana Bayzakova Hamwi also attended the meeting.

Mr Lam introduced Hong Kong's unique advantages and learned about their specific demands for legal services. They also jointly explored ways to strengthen co-operation between the two places to support enterprises in leveraging Hong Kong's professional services to expand into international markets.

Mr Lam and the delegation visited the Ministry of Economy & Finance of the Republic of Uzbekistan to meet Deputy Minister Abidkhadjaev Umid Kutpitdinovich and Advisor to the Minister Jasur Karshibaev yesterday.

They also visited the Ministry of Investment, Industry & Trade of the Republic of Uzbekistan to meet Deputy Minister Kasimov Ilzat Ablakhatovich.

Mr Lam and the delegation shared Hong Kong's professional experiences in areas such as investment, cross-border trade, commercial and dispute resolution under the common law system, and explored how Hong Kong might help advance the development of the Tashkent International Financial Centre.

In the afternoon, Mr Lam and the delegation visited and had a lunch with the Ambassador Extraordinary & Plenipotentiary of the People's Republic of China to the Republic of Uzbekistan Yu Jun.

They exchanged views on topics including consolidating Hong Kong's role as an international legal hub and strengthening co-operation with international legal and dispute resolution institutions.

Mr Lam then met Chairman of the Chamber of Advocates of the Republic of Uzbekistan Shukhrat Shavkatovich Sadikov to discuss ways to deepen exchanges and collaboration between legal professionals in the two places.

In the evening, Mr Lam attended a Uzbekistan Independence Day celebration activity.

Mr Lam concluded his visit today and will return to Hong Kong tomorrow.