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The Secretary for Financial Services and the Treasury, Professor K C Chan, started his visit to Riga in Latvia yesterday (April 13, Riga time).
On behalf of the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region Government, Professor Chan first signed a comprehensive agreement for the avoidance of double taxation with the Latvian Minister for Finance, Mrs Dana Reizniece-Ozola. After that, they sat down for a meeting to exchange views on fostering financial and economic ties between the two places.
As the first Hong Kong principal official to visit Latvia in the last 10 years, Professor Chan also shared details of Hong Kong's unique role as a leading international financial centre and a gateway to the Mainland market.
He later called on the Deputy Governor of the Bank of Latvia, Ms Zoja Razmusa, to learn more about the country's current monetary and economic condition, and they exchanged views on further co-operation between the two economies.
Professor Chan also met with the Minister for Foreign Affairs, Mr Edgars Rinkevics, to talk about Hong Kong's latest developments in the financial and business sectors.
He then paid a courtesy call on the Chinese Ambassador to Latvia, Mr Huang Yong.
Professor Chan also met local business leaders over lunch and dinner, appealing to them to make the most of Hong Kong's unique role connecting the Mainland with the rest of the world.
Professor Chan will leave for Helsinki, Finland later today (April 14, Riga time), where he will separately meet with the Permanent Secretary of the Ministry of Finance, Mr Martti Hetemaki, and the Director-General of the Financial Supervisory Authority of Finland, Ms Anneli Tuominen, to exchange views on financial and regulatory issues of mutual interest. He will also attend a dinner hosted by the Finland-Hong Kong Trade Association to promote trade ties between the two places.
Ends/Thursday, April 14, 2016
Issued at HKT 11:40
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