The Commission on Strategic Development will discuss ways to leverage on the Outline of the Plan for the Reform & Development of the Pearl River Delta and the National 12th Five-Year Plan to enhance Hong Kong's economic strength at its meeting on June 18.

The commission's secretariat today issued a paper on the subject for members' consideration.

The paper said the recently promulgated outline and the preparation of the 12th Five-Year Plan can provide a major opportunity for Hong Kong to develop the six economic areas the Task Force on Economic Challenges identified in April.

The paper raises three strategic considerations relating to the six economic areas' further development:

* the SAR Government's proactive role in facilitating access to the Pearl River Delta market, co-ordinating and rationalising the relationship between the public and private sectors' services in some of the economic areas, and creating a favourable market environment;

* the urgency to establish co-operation with Guangdong in the six economic areas; and

* the implications for regional co-operation and broadening Hong Kong's industrial base.

The paper also invites members to advise on other key issues, including:

* ways of facilitating access to the Mainland market for the six economic areas;

* concrete proposals for expediting co-operation with the PRD region;

* policies, measures and actions the Government and the private sector could take to jointly develop the six economic areas; and