Expertise exchange: Secretary for the Civil Service Joseph Wong (centre) greets the four exchange officers from Shanghai.

Four Shanghai Municipal Government officers have arrived in Hong Kong for a three-month professional exchange.

During their stay, they will be attached to the Housing, Environmental Protection and Water Supplies Departments.

Secretary for Civil Service Joseph Wong received the four officers today and briefed them on the Government's structure, its mode of operation and issues concerning civil service management.

They are the second batch of officers seconded to Hong Kong under the staff exchange agreement recently signed between the two governments.

Under the agreement, the Civil Service Bureau and Shanghai's Foreign Affairs Office will arrange at least one exchange programme a year from 2002 to 2005.

Its main objectives are to widen the exposure of participating staff, facilitate an exchange of experience and expertise, and to foster closer partnership and communication between both jurisdictions.

Four officers from the three Hong Kong departments arrived in Shanghai in mid-October. They are attached to the Housing & Lands Resources Administration, and the Environmental Protection and Water Conservation Bureaux for the three-month exchange.