A Hong Kong Government delegation, led by Deputy Secretary for Constitutional Affairs Grace Lui, left Hong Kong today for a five-day visit to Sichuan Province. The delegation will visit Chengdu, Mianyang and Deyang. 

The purpose of the visit is to enhance understanding of the province, foster closer working relations and communication between the two governments and get a better understanding of the latest progress as the province prepares for the "Second Pan-Pearl River Delta Regional Co-operation & Development Forum & Trade Fair", with a view to enhancing co-operation in the Pan-Pearl River Delta region.

This is the third visit made by the HK Government to the region. The first visit to Hainan Province was in December, while the second to Jiangxi was in January.

The PPRD region includes nine provinces in the Mainland - Fujian, Jiangxi, Hunan, Guangdong, Guangxi, Hainan, Sichuan, Guizhou and Yunnan - as well as Hong Kong and Macau.

The delegation comprises representatives from the Constitutional Affairs Bureau, Commerce, Industry & Technology Bureau, Central Policy Unit, Labour Department, Planning Department and The Office of the Government of the HKSAR in Beijing. Representatives from the HK Trade Development Council also join the visit.