Hong Kong chief secretary Carrie Lam visits HCM City
VOV.VN - Hong Kong’s chief secretary Carrie Lam Cheng Yuet-ngor has arrived in Ho Chi Minh City for a three-day official visit at the invitation of Nguyen Thanh Phong, chairman of the HCM City People’s Committee.
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At a welcoming reception held in her honour on August 16, Hong Kong’s sitting No 2 government official said Hong Kong is interested in pursuing the opening of a Trade Development Council in the City.
The Hong Kong official emphasized ASEAN’s importance to Hong Kong as an organization and that of both Vietnam and ASEAN as rapidly growing economic regions presenting enormous opportunities.
With ASEAN now as Hong Kong’s second biggest trading partner after mainland China, she said, there is great interest to pursue broader and deeper cooperation and economic trade with both ASEAN in general and Vietnam in particular.
Both The Chief Secretary and Mr Phong were of the view that an ASEAN-Hong Kong Free Trade Agreement currently under negotiation will strengthen economic ties between Hong Kong and ASEAN by facilitating the flow of goods, services and investments.
Discussions focused on the continuing development of Hong Kong as a city, the dominance of services in Hong Kong’s economy—including financial services—and the success of Hong Kong’s anti-corruption drive, which has been critical to its role as an international business hub.
