Driving commercial and political engagement between Asia, the Middle East and Europe
Driving commercial and political engagement between Asia, the Middle East and Europe
Driving commercial and political engagement between Asia, the Middle East and Europe
The Hon Mrs Carrie Lam Cheng Yuet-ngor, Chief Executive of the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region, will deliver a keynote speech at Asia House’s landmark conference ‘Asia Trade in the New Global Order’ on 27 November.
The conference, which will be held at the JW Marriott hotel in Hong Kong, will follow closely on from the signing of the free trade agreement (FTA) between Hong Kong and ASEAN in November.
Since her appointment in April, the Chief Executive has made engagement with Southeast Asia a priority. At the Hong Kong Summit in July, she affirmed that Hong Kong and ASEAN had a “long-established trading partnership that is growing stronger with time”, and that Hong Kong had been “working intensively with ASEAN partners on the Hong Kong-ASEAN Free Trade Agreement with a view to completing it very soon”.
Singapore and Thailand were the destinations of her first official overseas visits in August, and she told SCMP that she “picked the two countries to highlight Hong Kong’s relationship with ASEAN… which is Hong Kong’s second largest trading partner”.
During the Second ASEAN Economic Ministers-Hong Kong, China Consultations on 9 September, ministers noted that the Hong Kong-ASEAN FTA had been concluded, with the signing set to take place on the sidelines of the 31st ASEAN Summit in the Philippines in November.
According to China Daily, Edward Yau, Secretary for Commerce and Economic Development of the Hong Kong SAR, said that the Hong Kong economy will benefit from the FTA, which will bring Hong Kong “more and better access to the ASEAN markets, create new business opportunities and further enhance trade and investment flows”.
Delegates at the conference will have access to a wide network of business and policy thought leaders with interests in the region, as well as dialogue on the opportunities emerging from the HK-ASEAN FTA and broader trade developments.
The conference will also highlight Hong Kong’s role as a ‘super-connector’ between China and the rest of the world, and the opportunities emerging from the Belt and Road Initiative and the role of connectivity as a driver of growth in Asia.
The Chief Executive will be joined by other expert speakers, including His Excellency Le Luong Minh, Secretary-General of ASEAN and Cesar Purisima, Asia Fellow at the Milken Institute and former Philippine Secretary of Finance.
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