Chief Executive John Lee today met leaders of the Lao government, and visited a local school, an enterprise and a railway project before attending a business dinner in Vientiane, the capital of Laos.
 
Mr Lee, while leading a Hong Kong Special Administrative Region delegation to the country, met key members of the Lao National Chamber of Commerce & Industry in the morning.
 
He explained that with the support of such national strategies as the National 14th Five-Year Plan, the Belt & Road Initiative, and the Greater Bay Area development, Hong Kong is an important platform connecting the Mainland with the world. He also encouraged Lao enterprises to make use of Hong Kong’s financial, logistics and professional services to expand overseas as well as explore the vast Mainland market.
 
Following that, Mr Lee exchanged views on issues of mutual interest with Laos Prime Minister Sonexay Siphandone and the country's Deputy Prime Minister and Foreign Affairs Minister Saleumxay Kommasith.
 
He made it clear that Hong Kong attaches great importance to its close collaboration with countries of the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN), including Laos. As the first Chief Executive of the Hong Kong SAR to visit Laos, Mr Lee said that he hopes to lead his team to explore partnerships with the country in different areas and contribute to the co-operation between China and Laos under the framework of the Belt & Road Initiative.
 
The Chief Executive explained that Hong Kong is actively seeking accession to the Regional Comprehensive Economic Partnership (RCEP) in order to further contribute to the economic development of the region. Noting that the Lao government has assumed ASEAN chairmanship this year, Mr Lee thanked it for acknowledging Hong Kong’s potential contribution, and its continuous and strong support to Hong Kong’s accession to the RCEP.
 
Additionally, Mr Lee and Mr Saleumxay jointly witnessed the exchange of 12 memoranda of understanding (MoUs) between organisations and enterprises of the two places in areas covering customs collaboration, investment promotion, trade and economic partnership, financial services, education exchange and more.
 
The Chief Executive noted that the conclusion of the series of MoUs will promote the connections between Hong Kong and Laos across various fields. He added that it will also allow Hong Kong enterprises to seize the opportunities in entering the Lao market, grasping the abundant development potential of Laos, and jointly developing emerging industries.
 
In the afternoon, Mr Lee visited a secondary school in Laos to tour its teaching facilities and watch a performance by the students. He highlighted that the Hong Kong SAR Government has set up the Belt & Road Scholarship to support outstanding students from countries and regions along the Belt & Road, including Laos, to pursue full-time studies in publicly-funded universities of Hong Kong.
 
He emphasised that he looks forward to more talent from Laos staying in Hong Kong for development in the future.
 
Afterwards, Mr Lee visited the Saysettha Development Zone, a new economic zone in Vientiane. The development zone is a key co-operation project between the governments of China and Laos, and is the only state-level overseas economic and trade co-operation zone established by China in Laos. Currently, about 150 companies from nine countries and regions have settled in the zone.
 
He also visited Solarspace Technology (Laos) Sole Co in the development zone to learn more about its business in manufacturing solar cells and modules.
 
Apart from pointing out that the Hong Kong SAR Government is committed to combatting climate change, with the target of achieving carbon neutrality before 2050, Mr Lee expressed his hope that Hong Kong and Laos enterprises could have more co-operation opportunities in new energy.
 
He and his delegation then visited Vientiane Station, the terminal station of the China-Laos Railway, to understand more about the operation of the railway.
 
The railway is a flagship project of China-Laos co-operation under the framework of the Belt-Road initiative and plays a significant role in connecting the two countries.
 
Mr Lee said that the China-Laos Railway has greatly shortened the transportation time for cargo and passengers between the two countries, and helped to promote people-to-people exchanges.
 
As an international trade and shipping centre, and a regional aviation hub, Hong Kong possesses a high-quality logistics service sector that could share its experience with Lao enterprises, supporting the development of the regional logistics industry in Laos, he added.
 
In the evening, the Chief Executive attended a dinner with the Lao Chinese Chamber of Commerce. Speaking at the event, he introduced the latest development opportunities of Hong Kong to local business leaders, as well as the Hong Kong SAR Government’s measures in strengthening connections between the peoples and business communities of the two places.
 
Mr Lee and the delegation will depart for Phnom Penh, Cambodia, tomorrow to proceed with his visit programme.