Chief Executive John Lee on Monday said that a new "four-party agreement" between the SAR, Guangdong, Macau and the nation's sports agency marks a new stage of cooperation as the three places aim to collaborate on and promote Greater Bay Area sports development.

Lee's comments came after he signed the agreement with Gao Zhidan, the director of the General Administration of Sport of China, Meng Fanli, the governor of Guangdong province, and Sam Hou-fai, chief executive of Macau, in Shenzhen last Friday, following the conclusion of the 15th National Games.

In a statement, Lee noted that the agreement "inherits and carries forward the spirit of unity" fostered through the co-hosting of the games among Hong Kong, Macau, and Guangdong.

"Under the strategic framework of the four-party agreement, the HKSAR government will capitalise on the distinctive advantages of 'one country, two systems' to promote the integrated development of sports in the Greater Bay Area," he said.

"We will deepen the cooperation in areas such as consolidation of sports resources, joint hosting of sports events, integration of sports industries and nurturing of talents, thereby contributing to the building of China as a leading sporting nation," he added.

Under the agreement, sports exchanges, especially that for youth sports, would be enhanced, with new platforms for such exchanges to be established.

There will also be improvements over the cooperation mechanisms among the three so they could create branded sports events together, coordinate on elite sports, and cooperate in sports science and research.

The three places would also step up coordination within international organisations, such as the Association For International Sport for All, and the Asian Sport for All Association, and collaborate on sports governance and in areas such as sports dispute resolution.