Financial Secretary Paul Chan on Sunday said Hong Kong’s cooperation with the Middle East and the Global South was deepening and becoming more substantive.

Chan made the remarks after his visit to Doha, Qatar, to attend an annual meeting of the Asian Infrastructure Investment Bank, where he engaged in exchanges with political and business figures from various places.

Writing in his weekly blog, Chan said he believed cooperation was accelerating from a two-way flow of capital and people towards broader collaboration on innovation and technology, as well as industrial projects.

He said economies in the Middle East had been promoting economic diversification in recent years, with investments in infrastructure, artificial intelligence and digitalisation, healthcare, robotics, and renewable energy and new materials – all of which align closely with Hong Kong’s innovation and technology development direction.

“Compared with previous overseas visits, the exchanges this time showed their wish to strengthen cooperation has gone beyond intention towards deeper and more concrete discussions on projects,” Chan said.

“What they need is no longer just investment, but also project and industrial cooperation, knowledge and experience in institutional development, professional services and trustworthy partners.”

Chan said the SAR would continue to strengthen its global connections and influence as an international financial centre, with a series of events being held in the city in the coming months.

Meanwhile, the finance chief said Hong Kong had seen more than 732,000 visits by mainland tourists during the first three days of the National Day Golden Week holiday – a year-on-year growth of 8.4 percent.

He said many restaurants and stores, especially those located in popular tourist spots, had seen a surge in business.




Edited by Tony Sabine