Chief Executive John Lee today met visiting Permanent Deputy Prime Minister of Vietnam Nguyen Hoa Binh at Government House.

Mr Lee welcomed the Vietnamese official’s visit to Hong Kong with his delegation for the Ninth Belt & Road Summit.

The Chief Executive said Hong Kong and Vietnam are important economic partners and the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region Government values strengthening connections with Vietnam.

During his recent visit to Vietnam with a Hong Kong SAR delegation, Mr Lee witnessed the signing of a total of 30 memoranda of understanding covering areas such as economy and trade, education, and tourism.

Noting that Vietnam has experienced rapid economic developments in recent years, Mr Lee said Hong Kong can act as a close partner with Vietnam enterprises to explore overseas markets. He also expressed his hope that the two places will continue to explore opportunities for co-operation.

Mr Lee extended his gratitude to Vietnam for its continuous support for Hong Kong’s early accession to the Regional Comprehensive Economic Partnership to further contribute to regional economic developments.

The Permanent Deputy Prime Minister of Vietnam noted that the relationship between Vietnam and Hong Kong has always been close, and that he looks forward to closer exchanges between the two places at both government and community levels, further benefiting the people of both places.

Also attending the meeting were Deputy Financial Secretary Michael Wong, Under-Secretary for Commerce & Economic Development Bernard Chan, and Commissioner for Belt & Road Nicholas Ho.