Secretary for Innovation, Technology & Industry Prof Sun Dong outlined Hong Kong’s innovation and technology (I&T) achievements yesterday as he spoke at the Global System for Mobile Communications Association (GSMA) Ministerial Programme in Barcelona, Spain.

The programme was part of Mobile World Congress (MWC) 2025, which Prof Sun has been attending this week with a delegation from Hong Kong’s I&T sector.

At the ministerial programme, themed “2025+: A Tech Odyssey”, he delivered a keynote speech in which he outlined Hong Kong’s efforts to build a smart city and a digitally inclusive society that bridges the “digital divide”.

Highlighting that one of the best markers of a city’s I&T development is its degree of digitalisation, Prof Sun said all submissions and payments to the Hong Kong Special Administrative Government can be done electronically.

“More than three millions of people are enjoying the convenience and efficiency of accessing government services and online identity verification through a mobile application called ‘iAM Smart’. A corporate version of ‘iAM Smart’, nick-named CorpID, is upcoming too.”

In terms of digital inclusiveness, Hong Kong’s household broadband and smartphone penetration rates are both approximately 97%. The internet usage rate among citizens aged 65 and above rocketed from 56% in 2018 to 84% in 2023, higher than the European rate of around 78%.

“As society becomes so digitally knitted and increasingly mobile, we recently launched the ‘Smart Silver’ Digital Inclusion Programme for Elders to address the challenges of an increasingly aging society.

“This programme fortifies our digital inclusive efforts by providing elders with community-based training and on-the-spot helpdesks to enhance elders’ knowledge on new digital technologies and support their navigation by common mobile applications.”

During the congress, Professor Sun met the GSMA’s Head of Greater China Sihan Bo Chen to learn about the association’s work to develop mobile communications and promote innovation in the industry.

He also visited various exhibition pavilions on-site, including the EU Quantum Flagship. He and his delegation toured the Barcelona Supercomputing Center, where he was briefed on Spanish and European developments in quantum computers, supercomputing technology, AI and more.

Prof Sun will proceed from Barcelona to Lisbon, Portugal later today.