Secretary for Justice Paul Lam said on Tuesday that he has full confidence that Hong Kong will become more and more successful in combating corruption.

Lam was speaking at a conference called "Absence of Corruption - A Key Requirement for the Rule of Law".

The event was co-hosted by the World Justice Project (WJP) and Hong Kong Bar Association.

In his keynote speech, Lam noted that the absence of corruption is interrelated with the rule of law.

"Corruption was widespread and a major social problem in Hong Kong in the 1960s and early 1970s. However, in a few decades' time, Hong Kong has become one of the least corrupt places in the world," he said.

The justice minister went on to say that the SAR's "comprehensive legal framework, strong and independent law enforcement agencies and judiciary, and a deep anti-corruption culture in society" have contributed to the transformation within a short period of time.

"While there is no room for complacency, I have full confidence that Hong Kong's fight against corruption will go from strength to strength in future," Lam said.

"Putting aside the fact that the anti-corruption culture is already ingrained in our society, another very important reason is that the comprehensive legal framework as well as our strong and independent institutions are well preserved by the Basic Law pursuant to the fundamental and long-lasting principle of 'one country, two systems'."

Jose-Antonio Maurellet, who chairs the Bar Association, meanwhile, said the association was delighted to host the inaugural conference with WJP.

He said 100 legal professionals, regulators and academics attended the event to look into strategies critical to maintaining the rule of law both locally and globally, as well as corruption-related issues.

"This is an issue which has been at the forefront of many challenges elsewhere, and in this respect, Hong Kong has had a pretty good experience in terms of how we've dealt with it by the laws that we've passed, as well as the regulations we have," the senior counsel told reporters after the event.

"So we hope that by having more such events, there can be more communications. So at the end of the day, it's a learning process that goes two ways. It's for us to learn from other people's experiences across the region, and also for people to learn from us, so depending on the field."

Maurellet said hosting the conference with international institutions helps promote a better understanding of the SAR's role under One Country, Two Systems, as well as the common law system.

WJP's Asia Pacific Regional Director Srirak Pilpat for his part, said the "successful" meeting allowed participants to learn more about the challenges of maintaining the rule of law, as well as how to overcome the issues.