Chief Executive John Lee has vowed to bolster ties with the United Arab Emirates, noting there have been “very good developments” between the two economies.

That came as he met Abu Dhabi crown prince Sheikh Khaled bin Mohamed bin Zayed Al Nahyan, on the sidelines of the Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation summit.

“I’m very glad to see that we have very good developments in different aspects, including government-to-government ties, people-to-people ties, tourism and trade especially," Lee said.

"Trade has been growing very positively at an annual growth rate of 14 percent, reaching US$16 billion [last year].

“The UAE is the largest trading partner in the Middle East for us. There are a lot of things we can work [on] together.”

The crown prince, for his part, said the kingdom has a lot of business deals going on with Hong Kong and that authorities “plan to do more on that front”.

In a social media post following the meeting, Lee expressed confidence that business ties and investment flows will continue to grow between the two sides.

“Since my visit to the UAE in February 2023, there has been a continuous increase in cooperation projects,” he wrote.

“I look forward to further deepening our bilateral relations.”

Lee said he hoped the UAE will support a free-trade agreement between Hong Kong and the Cooperation Council for the Arab States of the Gulf to further enhance exchanges.