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The Secretary for Commerce and Economic Development, Mr Gregory So, today (August 14, Adelaide time) continued his visit to Adelaide, Australia, where he witnessed the signing of a Memorandum of Understanding (MOU) on Tourism Co-operation between Hong Kong and the state of South Australia.
The MOU was signed by the Director of the Hong Kong Economic and Trade Office in Sydney (HKETO), Mr Arthur Au, on behalf of the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region Government, and a Board Director of the South Australian Tourism Commission, Ms Jane Jeffreys; and witnessed by Mr So and the Governor of South Australia, Mr Hieu Van Le.
Speaking at the signing ceremony, Mr So said, "In 2013, we signed with South Australia an MOU on Tourism Co-operation to promote stronger co-operation in tourism in the next two years. We are delighted to sign another MOU with the South Australian Government during this trip to feature the ongoing mutual tourism co-operation between the two sides."
After the ceremony, Mr So attended a lunch hosted by the Premier of South Australia, Mr Jay Weatherill. He then officiated at an eye-dotting ceremony and a reception jointly hosted by the OzAsia Festival and the HKETO. The OzAsia Festival is Australia's leading arts festival giving access to theatre, dance, music, film and visual arts from across Asia.
Mr So then delivered a keynote speech at the gala dinner of the Hong Kong-Australia Business Association (South Australia Chapter) Business Awards. He pointed out that Hong Kong would remain an important investment conduit for businesses in Mainland China under the Central People's Government's policy of helping Mainland and Hong Kong enterprises to "go global" together. Hence, the potential investment from Mainland China to Australia through Hong Kong could be enormous.
On the "One Belt, One Road" initiative, Mr So said it is a development strategy designed to integrate China more fully into the world economy. "With our long-standing and unique role as the 'super-connector' between the vast Mainland Chinese market and the rest of the world, Hong Kong is poised to benefit from this new framework for organising multinational economic development. And for Australian companies with investment and operations in Hong Kong, that means new business and new opportunities," Mr So added.
Turning to the wine trade, Mr So said Hong Kong and South Australia have long been close partners, noting that Hong Kong accounted for 8 per cent of South Australia's wine exports in 2014. He said Hong Kong has been the world's number one wine auction centre for the past five years, and the outlook of Hong Kong's wine business remains very positive.
Earlier today, Mr So also paid a visit to a food and wine research organisation in Adelaide.
Mr So will make a stopover in Sydney tomorrow (August 15), where he will join the Commissioner for Tourism, Miss Cathy Chu, to see the operation of food trucks in the city before returning to Hong Kong in the morning of August 16.
Ends/Friday, August 14, 2015
Issued at HKT 20:22
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