Acting Chief Executive Paul Lam today met members of a visiting ASEAN-China Joint Cooperation Committee delegation.

They discussed deepening co-operation between Hong Kong and the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) member states as well as issues of mutual concern.

Mr Lam welcomed the delegation, noting that Hong Kong has maintained close trade and economic ties with ASEAN, with ASEAN being the city’s second-largest trading partner for a long time.

He said the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region Government launched the Immigration Facilitation Scheme for Invited Persons last month, providing more convenient immigration arrangements for ASEAN invitees.

The new measure promotes economic and trade exchanges as well as cultural co-operation between Hong Kong and ASEAN, furthering deepening ties between the two places, Mr Lam added.

He also introduced Hong Kong's advantages and development opportunities to the delegation members.

He highlighted the city's distinctive advantage of enjoying the motherland’s strong support while being closely connected to the world under the “one country, two systems” principle, and has long played the important role of a “super connector” and “super value-adder”.

Furthermore, as the only common law jurisdiction in China, Hong Kong has the unique advantage of having a well-established legal system alongside top-tier legal and dispute resolution services.

Mr Lam encouraged enterprises from ASEAN member states to leverage Hong Kong as a platform to explore overseas and Mainland markets through its professional services, thereby achieving mutual benefits.

During the delegation's visit to Hong Kong on April 23 and 24, members will meet Principal Officials, the Legislative Council (LegCo) President and representatives of other major institutions as well as visiting Super Terminal 1 and LegCo.