Chief Executive John Lee today met with senior government officials from Uzbekistan, Uruguay, Laos, Kazakhstan and Qatar who were in Hong Kong for the 11th Belt & Road Summit, welcoming their delegations and exchanging views on issues of mutual concern.

Mr Lee met with the Prime Minister of Uzbekistan Abdulla Nigmatovich Aripov at Government House. He noted that both sides, building on government-to-government high-level contacts and established ties, have pressed ahead with the results achieved during his earlier visit to Uzbekistan, and are closely following up on co-operation in legal services, trade, investment, education, innovation and technology, transport and logistics, culture, and talent development. Both sides will also continue discussions on bilateral agreements in various areas.

Mr Lee also noted that Uzbekistan is an important trading partner for Hong Kong in Central Asia. Hong Kong can provide strong support to Uzbekistan in trade and professional services. Both sides will continue to work together to promote co-operation in various areas, further consolidate their advantages as gateways for trade and investment, respectively in the Asia-Pacific and Central Asian regions, and jointly participate in the high-quality development of the Belt & Road Initiative to seize opportunities together and achieve mutual benefits.

The Chief Executive then met the Vice President of Uruguay Carolina Cosse. He said Hong Kong will continue to serve as a functional platform for the Belt & Road Initiative, leveraging the dual advantage of enjoying both national and global opportunities, to assist enterprises from the Global South in exploring the Asian market and seizing the immense opportunities of the Guangdong-Hong Kong-Macao Greater Bay Area.

Mr Lee added that there is immense potential for co-operation between Hong Kong and Uruguay, and expressed the hope that both sides will strengthen collaboration in trade and investment, finance and professional services, and share the fruits of development together.

Mr Lee also met the Deputy Prime Minister of Laos Saleumxay Kommasith. He said the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region Government has established a Hong Kong Economic & Trade Office in Kuala Lumpur to deepen economic and trade co-operation with the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) and neighbouring countries.

Mr Lee welcomed enterprises from Laos and other ASEAN countries to make use of Hong Kong's leading professional services and favourable business environment to explore opportunities, and jointly promote regional co-operation and economic prosperity. He also thanked Laos for its support of Hong Kong's accession to the Regional Comprehensive Economic Partnership.

Afterwards, Mr Lee met the Minister of Trade & Integration of Kazakhstan Arman Shakkaliyev. He said today's meeting followed up on the solid outcomes achieved during his earlier visit to Kazakhstan, further advancing the "hub-to-hub" co-operation model.

Mr Lee also noted that, with the launch of direct flights from Hong Kong to Almaty in the first quarter of next year, and the expansion of the Economic & Trade Office network to cover Central Asia, bilateral exchanges and economic and trade co-operation will be further deepened, continuously strengthening co-operation across various sectors and jointly seizing the opportunities presented by the Belt & Road Initiative.

Mr Lee then met the Minister of State for Foreign Trade Affairs of Qatar Ahmed bin Mohammed Al-Sayed. He said that as the global economic gravity continues to shift eastwards, Hong Kong will continue to firmly support free trade and multilateralism, and continue to expand its global trade network, including providing safe, free and diverse investment opportunities with no capital controls for investors from the Middle East.

He also mentioned that Hong Kong can provide financing and professional services support for the Qatar National Vision 2030 and its economic diversification efforts, promoting broader and deeper co-operation between the two sides in finance, investment, trade, and innovation and technology.

Secretary for Justice Paul Lam, Deputy Financial Secretary Michael Wong, Deputy Secretary for Justice Cheung Kwok-kwan, Secretary for Commerce & Economic Development Algernon Yau, Secretary for Education Choi Yuk-lin, Secretary for Innovation, Technology & Industry Prof Sun Dong, Secretary for Transport & Logistics Mable Chan, Secretary for Culture, Sports & Tourism Rosanna Law and the Director of the Chief Executive's Office Carol Yip also attended the respective meetings.