Chief Secretary Chan Kwok-ki attended a seminar in Beijing today to discuss talent exchanges and co-operation in the Greater Bay Area (GBA) and forge the work of building Hong Kong into an international hub for high-calibre talent.

He joined the seminar - convened by the Ministry of Human Resources & Social Security (MoHRSS) - together with Secretary for Labour & Welfare Chris Sun and Hong Kong Talent Engage Director Anthony Lau.

Speaking at the seminar, Mr Chan said that 2024 is a fruitful year for integrated talent development in the GBA, achieving various significant milestones.

These include the signing of the framework agreement between the governments of Guangdong Province and the Hong Kong Special Administrative in January to promote talent co-operation and a memorandum of understanding (MOU) among the 9+2 cities of the GBA in May to jointly strengthen services provided for talent in the region.

Noting that Hong Kong has brought together diversified talent from around the globe and served as a window for outside talent for the GBA and the country, the Chief Secretary said the city will play the important roles of building an international hub for post-secondary education, attracting innovation and technology talent and leading technology enterprises as well as strengthening its status as an international talent hub, with a view to making greater contributions to Hong Kong and the country's high-quality development and accelerating the process of building China into a great country through modernisation.

"Each city of the GBA possesses unique advantages on development, and has ample room for collaboration,” he added.

Looking ahead, Mr Chan expressed confidence Hong Kong would build on its efforts to enhance the GBA's strategic planning on areas including the admission, nurturing and mobility of talent so as to enhance the ability to attract and gather talent in the bay area to make a greater contribution to the country's high-quality development.

Witnessed by the Chief Secretary, Mr Sun signed an MOU with the MoHRSS, the Human Resources & Social Security Department of Guangdong Province and the Talent Development Committee of the Macao Special Administrative Region Government.

The MOU will help the GBA to jointly build a pilot international hub for high-calibre talent, a demonstration zone of interface and reform of talent-related regulations, a strategic fulcrum of innovation and entrepreneurship of talent in the bay area, an innovative co-operation zone of skilled workforce training and a high-quality development zone of human resources.