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The Ninth Pan-Pearl River Delta (PPRD) Regional Co-operation and Development Forum (the PPRD Forum) was held in Guiyang, Guizhou, today (September 9). The Chief Executive, Mr C Y Leung, led the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region Government delegation to join the Forum.
Speaking at the High-Level Forum this morning, the Chief Executive summarised Hong Kong's strengths and functions in PPRD regional co-operation in the past nine years, in particular the roles of Hong Kong as the region's source of capital, technology and talent as well as platform for two-way flow of investments. On future co-operation, the Chief Executive highlighted the role of Hong Kong as a "super-connector" in promoting the development of service industries. Hong Kong can be a "Chief Knowledge Officer" for the PPRD service sectors by providing the necessary international information, connection and professional support services; can foster service trade in the region with the further implementation of the Mainland and Hong Kong Closer Economic Partnership Arrangement (CEPA); and can facilitate the development of the PPRD service sectors with the knowledge and experience of Hong Kong professionals.
The Chief Executive attended the Chief Executive Joint Conference in the afternoon. Chief executives of the "9+2" provinces/autonomous region/Special Administrative Regions signed the "Guizhou Accord", which sets out the directions to further deepen co-operation in a new round of PPRD Fora. The Chief Executive underlined at the Conference Hong Kong's institutional strengths and strong international ties as well as the opportunities arising from the implementation of CEPA. The Conference also agreed that Guangdong, Hong Kong and Macau would host the 10th PPRD Forum next year, following the precedent of the first round in 2004.
During his participation in the PPRD Forum, the Chief Executive separately met with leaders of Guizhou Province, Guangdong Province, Sichuan Province, the Guangxi Zhuang Autonomous Region and Fujian Province to discuss multi-faceted bilateral co-operation matters, such as commerce and trade, financial services, tourism, culture and more.
When meeting with the Party Secretary of Guizhou, Mr Zhao Kezhi, and the Governor, Mr Chen Min'er, the Chief Executive expressed gratitude for Guizhou's hospitality. They also explored room for future co-operation on various fronts. At the Chief Executive's meeting with the Party Secretary of Guangdong, Mr Hu Chunhua, and the Governor, Mr Zhu Xiaodan, the two sides exchanged views on further strengthening co-operation between the two places and the hosting of the 10th PPRD Forum next year by Guangdong, Hong Kong and Macau.
During the Chief Executive's meeting with the Governor of Sichuan, Mr Wei Hong, both sides acknowledged that Hong Kong and Sichuan had established a good co-operation foundation in various areas such as medical and health, education, construction and engineering, tourism, sports, and Wolong nature conservation work. The two places would further step up multi-faceted co-operation. When the Chief Executive met with the Chairman of the Guangxi Zhuang Autonomous Region, Mr Chen Wu, the two sides agreed to capitalise on the China-ASEAN Free Trade Area and the opportunities arising from the Free Trade Agreement being negotiated between Hong Kong and ASEAN to strengthen the exchange and co-operation between the PPRD region and ASEAN. When the Chief Executive met with the Governor of Fujian, Mr Su Shulin, views were exchanged on further extension of the early and pilot implementation measures under the Economic Co-operation Framework Agreement and CEPA to Hong Kong and Fujian respectively.
The Chief Executive will return to Hong Kong tonight.
Ends/Monday, September 9, 2013
Issued at HKT 20:34
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