Chief Executive John Lee announced on Tuesday that he will lead a delegation to Kazakhstan and Uzbekistan early next month on his first official trip to Central Asia.

Speaking ahead of the weekly Executive Council meeting, Lee said Kazakhstan is the SAR’s largest trading partner in Central Asia, while Uzbekistan is a major economic growth engine.

The region is working to diversify its economy, he said, and there are plenty of opportunities to work with Hong Kong.

On top of further opening up new markets to lay the foundation for long-term trade relations, the CE said he also aims to promote closer ties between governments through meeting top officials of the two countries during the visit.

The visit is also intended to construct a hub-to-hub cooperation model, Lee added.

"Kazakhstan and Uzbekistan are the two major countries in Central Asia – they are the main gateways for foreign capital entering the region. Hong Kong is the gateway for foreign capital into East and Southeast Asia," he said.

"By strengthening cooperation between these two hubs, we can establish a hub-to-hub cooperation model and create a new pathway connecting Central Asia with East and Southeast Asia."

Lee went on to say that collaboration with the two countries will benefit Hong Kong's economy, trade and service sectors, and create more employment and value-added opportunities in the SAR.

Lee said the delegation consisting of government officials and more than 60 high-level business representatives – over half from Hong Kong and the rest from the mainland – is the biggest ever and covers the widest range of representatives in the current term government, and is “much larger” than the one he led to the Middle East last year.

The delegation will visit local businesses and infrastructure to explore new cooperation and trading opportunities, he added.



Edited by Thomas McAlinden