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The Chief Secretary for Administration, Mr Stephen Lam, continued his visit to Germany today (October 25, Berlin time), meeting members of Parliament, local business representatives, and attending luncheon hosted by the Chinese Ambassador in Germany.
Mr Lam called on Chairman of the German-Chinese Parliamentary Friendship Group, Mr Johannes Pflug. They discussed Germany's situation in dealing with the Euro Zone crisis. Mr Lam learned that the different political parties in the German Parliament were highly concerned about the crisis. The Parliament would hold a debate on October 26 regarding what option should be put forward to resolve the issue. The decision to be reached by the Parliament would be a critical factor affecting the position of the German Government on this issue. Mr Lam pointed out that the timely and effective handling of the crisis would be crucial to maintaining confidence in the financial market. He looked forward to positive progress on this matter.
Mr Lam also briefed Mr Pflug on Hong Kong's efforts to launch various offshore Renminbi businesses. He welcomed Germany's financial institutions to seize the opportunities in Hong Kong.
During the meeting with the Association of German Chambers of Industry and Commerce, Mr Lam updated the participants on Hong Kong's economic situation. The two sides saw ample opportunities for co-operation as Hong Kong nurtured new industries, in particular in the medical, technological and environmental fields. Both sides also agreed to step up exchanges and collaboration in human resources development.
Mr Lam and the delegation attended a luncheon organised by the Chinese Ambassador in Germany, Mr Wu Hongbo, at the Chinese Embassy in Germany.
Mr Lam also gave an interview to local media, updating them on Hong Kong's latest economic, social and political developments under "One Country, Two Systems".
Commenting on this visit, Mr Lam said that Germany, being Hong Kong's most important trading partner in the EU, had established close economic and trade relations with Hong Kong. He was pleased to see the keen interest of the German political and business communities in furthering this bilateral relationship and promoting stronger links in the financial services sector and other new industries. In particular, Mr Lam was impressed by Berlin's efforts in recent years to cultivate its cultural and creative industries. He considered the experience to be very useful for Hong Kong when we pursued the West Kowloon Cultural District project and the development of creative industries.
Mr Lam will leave for Warsaw tomorrow (October 26) for the second leg of his visit to Poland.
Ends/Wednesday, October 26, 2011
Issued at HKT 04:17
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