CE attends Boao Forum for Asia Annual Conference
10.4.2018

The Chief Executive, Mrs Carrie Lam, today (April 10) attended the Opening Ceremony of the Boao Forum for Asia Annual Conference 2018 in Hainan, and met with the Prime Minister of Pakistan and the Secretary of the CPC Guangzhou Municipal Committee. Mrs Lam, together with the Secretary for Constitutional and Mainland Affairs, Mr Patrick Nip, and the Director of the Chief Executive's Office, Mr Chan Kwok-ki, attended in the morning the Opening Ceremony of the Boao Forum for Asia Annual Conference 2018, the theme of which is "An Open and Innovative Asia for a World of Greater Prosperity". At the Opening Ceremony, Mrs Lam and the other officials listened to the keynote speech delivered by President Xi Jinping. Noting the President said in his speech that the nation will continue to further its opening up, Mrs Lam considered it very good news to Hong Kong as the nation's most open centre for finance and trade. She said that Hong Kong has benefited from the reform and opening up of the nation in the past 40 years and it will continue to give full play to its strengths to contribute to the country. She said she believed that further opening up of the country is set to bring about new opportunities and impetus to the economic development of Hong Kong, Asia and the world. Mrs Lam and the other officials met with the Prime Minister of Pakistan, Mr Shahid Khaqan Abbasi, in the afternoon. Noting that there is a large Pakistani community in Hong Kong and many of its members were born, raised and educated in the city, Mrs Lam said the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region Government is committed to providing them as well as other ethnic minorities with equal opportunities and facilitating their integration into Hong Kong through policy initiatives. As Pakistan is an important country along the Belt and Road and with the Pakistan Chamber of Commerce set up in Hong Kong in 2013, she expressed the hope that co-operation between the two governments will be strengthened. Given Hong Kong's experiences and advantages in infrastructure financing, risk management, project supervision and construction, she said Hong Kong is keen to participate in the development of Pakistan. She also said more Pakistani students are welcome to study in Hong Kong to promote exchanges between people from the two places. Mrs Lam and the other officials then met with the Secretary of the CPC Guangzhou Municipal Committee, Mr Ren Xuefeng. Mrs Lam noted that she had found during her attendance at the Forum that many people are very interested in the Guangdong-Hong Kong-Macao Bay Area. With the forthcoming promulgation of the relevant development plan, it is important to enhance understanding of the Bay Area among the people in Guangdong, Hong Kong and Macao, she said. Thanking Mr Ren for his concern about the development of Hong Kong young people all along, she expressed the hope that more opportunities will be made available to people from Guangzhou and Hong Kong, especially the young people, with the development of the Bay Area in the future. Mrs Lam returned to Hong Kong this afternoon. Ends/Tuesday, April 10, 2018 Issued at HKT 22:01 NNNN