French friend: Minister of State for Co-operation and the Francophonie Alain Joyandet meets Chief Secretary for Administration Henry Tang in Paris.

Chief Secretary for Administration Henry Tang says European officials and business leaders have strong confidence in the One Country, Two Systems formula being implemented in Hong Kong, and remain optimistic about the city's economic prospects.

Concluding his visit to Europe today Mr Tang said his European counterparts were glad to know the city is moving towards universal suffrage, adding they show great interest in what Hong Kong people are doing to improve their quality of living.

During his visit to Paris May 11 to 14 Mr Tang updated a number of ministers on Hong Kong's latest developments and highlighted the exciting business opportunities promised by the Government's determination to develop Hong Kong into Asia's wine distribution hub.

Wine market

"The ministers are keen to develop closer economic links with Hong Kong. They welcome our recent reduction in wine duty and are highly supportive of using Hong Kong as the hub to tap into the Asian wine market.

"I am glad the French Government has agreed to my proposal of concluding a bilateral arrangement to share with us experience in promoting wine-related trade and tourism, as well as providing training on wine-tasting."

Mr Tang reaffirmed Hong Kong's strong commitment to promoting trade liberalisation through the WTO process. He agreed to take forward French proposals to promote bilateral collaboration between stock exchanges and securities regulators, as well as sharing Hong Kong's experience in maintaining a business-friendly environment.

Speaking at a luncheon Mr Tang appealed to business leaders to make the best use of Hong Kong as the springboard to entering the Asian market.

Cultural ties

During his meeting with Minister for Culture & Communication Christine Albanel, Mr Tang briefed her on Hong Kong's vision to build an art and culture metropolis and on the West Kowloon Cultural District project. Both sides agreed there would be ample opportunities to further promote bilateral cultural exchange.

Mr Tang also visited the Musee Guimet and Centre Pompidou, which are renowned for their respective collections of Asian and contemporary art. Both museums expressed interest in boosting co-operation and exchange with Hong Kong museums.

Mr Tang also met LVMH Group Chairman Bernard Arnault and witnessed the signing of a letter of intent between the Leisure & Cultural Services Department and the Louis-Vuitton Art Foundation to organise an exhibition of selected art works from the foundation's collection at the Hong Kong Museum of Art in 2009.

He also met Minister of State for Co-operation and the Francophonie Alain Joyandet and Chinese Ambassador to France Kong Quan to exchange views on issues of mutual interest.