HK Leader Vows Closer Economic Cooperation with ASEAN Neighbors
Hong Kong Chief Executive Carrie Lam Cheng Yuet-ngor (front row, center) invites the ASEAN heads of mission, led by Consul General Tri Tharyat (5th from right), for a dinner at the Hong Kong Government House on 04 June 2018, to thank them for their support in concluding the ASEAN-Hong Kong Free Trade Agreement and to exchange views on regional developments. Deputy Consul General Roderico C. Atienza (back row, 2nd from left) represented the Philippine Consulate General in Hong Kong. Apart from Chief Executive Lam, the Hong Kong side was also represented by Commerce and Economic Development Secretary Edward Yau Tang-wah (back row, center), Trade and Industry Director-General Salina Yan Mei-Mei (back row, far right), Protocol Head Joyce Lee (back row, leftmost), and Commerce and Economic Development Bureau Deputy Secretary Viviam Sum (front row, leftmost). (Hong Kong PCG photo)
HONG KONG 04 June 2018 – Hong Kong Chief Executive Carrie Lam Cheng Yuet-ngor hosted a dinner at the Government House on 04 June 2018 for ASEAN heads of mission, to thank them for their support in concluding the ASEAN-Hong Kong Free Trade Agreement (FTA) and to exchange views on regional developments. Deputy Consul General Roderico C. Atienza represented the Philippines during the event.
Chief Executive Lam, who has visited five out of ten ASEAN member countries since taking office in 01 July 2017, witnessed the signing of the regional FTA by Hong Kong Secretary for Commerce and Economic Development Edward Yau Tang-wah in Pasay City on 12 November 2017 with ASEAN economic ministers, including Philippine Trade and Industry Secretary Ramon M. Lopez.
Lam reiterated hopes for the expansion of Hong Kong’s trade in goods and services, as well as investments to and from ASEAN when the ASEAN-HK FTA and a related investment agreement signed in tandem come into effect on 01 January 2019, once all the parties complete the necessary domestic procedures.
ASEAN is Hong Kong's second largest trading partner in merchandise trade, and the fourth largest in services trade.
Visits by Hong Kong government officials and business executives to ASEAN, including the Philippines, have become more frequent in recent years. Lam has visited Singapore, Myanmar, Vietnam, Thailand, and Indonesia. The industry-wide Hong Kong Trade Development Council (HKTDC) made its third business mission to Manila in just over one year in April, which was keynoted by Foreign Affairs Secretary Alan Peter S. Cayetano.
“It is the best time to invest in your friend, in your neighbor, in your brother, the Philippines. We are ready for you. Make this your second home,” Secretary Cayetano said during the HKTDC trade mission.
Apart from Mrs Lam and Mr Yau, the Hong Kong side was also represented by Ms Salina Yan Mei-mei, Director-General of Trade and Industry, Ms Joyce Li, Head of Protocol, and Ms Viviam Sum, Deputy Secretary of the Commerce and Economic Development Bureau. END
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