Welcoming remarks by SITI at Geneva International Exhibition of Inventions 2023 - Hong Kong Reception (English only) (with photo)
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Distinguished guests, friends from Hong Kong and beyond, ladies and gentlemen,
A very warm welcome to all of you to the Hong Kong Reception of the Geneva International Exhibition of Inventions 2023. I am so excited to be here to show my support to our Hong Kong delegation and to pre-celebrate, of which I am pretty sure, Hong Kong's remarkable achievement that is going to be revealed in the Award Ceremony later this evening.
Coming to its 48th edition, the Exhibition has been a significant global event dedicated to innovation and for inventors around the world to exchange their research outcomes, insights, and experiences in pursuing the excellence of science and technology. I am particularly happy to see the passion of our Hong Kong I&T (innovation and technology) community in participating in this important annual event that is certainly one of the best global platforms for us to showcase the research excellence of Hong Kong, that is much deserved to be seen and recognised in the international arena.
Indeed, this is my first overseas trip since I took up the position of the Secretary for Innovation, Technology and Industry last July. I find it most timely to make this trip to Geneva to support in person our Hong Kong delegation, of which I am proudly to say, is the biggest ever with close to 500 representatives from universities, R&D (research and development) centres, research laboratories, tech companies, government departments and secondary schools, presenting a record high of 293 projects in total. Your participation is certainly the best testimony demonstrating to the world that Hong Kong is back on the world stage!
This term of Government in Hong Kong accords top priority to promote the I&T development of Hong Kong. Last December, we published the Hong Kong I&T Development Blueprint, which establishes a clear development path and systematic strategic planning for Hong Kong's I&T development over the coming five to 10 years. Under the Blueprint, we have clearly set out four major development directions and eight major strategies in order to chart Hong Kong in moving full steam towards our grand vision as being the international I&T centre with the staunch support from the Central Government.
One of the key directions that we will put our prime focus is to further enhance our I&T ecosystem and promote interactive development of the upstream, midstream and downstream sectors. Hong Kong enjoys clear advantages in the upstream sector with our robust R&D capability and the ability to make breakthroughs out of the blue. Hong Kong has the highest concentration of quality universities in the world with five of them ranking the world's top 70. Our scientific research standard has also been well recognised both nationally and internationally with many world-renowned scholars and experts having revolutionary and forward-looking R&D outcomes in their respective fields.
Over the years, the Government has launched different measures to support basic research, for instance, earmarking more than 1.1 billion euros (HK$10 billion) to support the city's flagship research initiative, namely InnoHK. Under this initiative, more than 30 top-notch universities and research institutes from 11 economies, including ETH Zurich and EPFL (École polytechnique fédérale de Lausanne) of which I visited earlier this week, collaborate with our local research teams to establish 28 world-class research laboratories focusing healthcare technologies, AI (artificial intelligence) and robotics technologies to propel global scientific research.
In order to further enhance the basic research in frontier technology fields such as AI and quantum technology, as recently announced in our Government Budget, the Government will earmark an additional funding of around 350 million euros (HK$3 billion) to promote the development of relevant facilities, in particular, to attract worldwide leading I&T talents, research teams and enterprises, thereby promoting cross-sectoral research co-operation.
Apart from consolidating our upstream R&D strengths, it is important to promote the transformation and commercialisation of R&D outcomes, thereby bringing real benefits to the community. In order to accelerate the transformation of excellent deep-tech R&D outcomes and the industry development, we will be launching later this year a new funding scheme namely Research, Academic and Industry Sectors One-plus Scheme in a scale of more than $1.1 billion euros (HK$10 billion).
This term of Government is also making all-out efforts on promoting the industry development, in particular those with an edge and of strategic importance such as life and health technology, AI and data science, and advanced manufacturing and new energy technology industries. I am happy to say that we are making good progress in attracting Mainland and overseas tech companies to set up or expand their businesses in Hong Kong after months of hard work. My trip this time also serves to send a clear message to the tech companies here in Europe that we welcome them to expand or set up operations in Hong Kong where they can find boundless business opportunities brought about by the seamless access to the gigantic market in the Greater Bay Area, and of course the Mainland market.
Ladies and gentlemen, today, it is also a special occasion for all of us to witness the signing of the MoU (Memorandum of Understanding) between the Hong Kong Exporters' Association and PALEXPO which are going to host the Asia Competition and Exhibition of Innovations and Inventions once again in Hong Kong this December. I am confident that this event will provide a unique platform for inventors and innovators in Asia to showcase their ideas, exchange knowledge, and network, and create opportunities for the region's brightest minds to shine. Congratulate both of you on this milestone and my sincere appreciation to both of you for casting the vote of confidence in Hong Kong.
Before I close, may I once again send my best wishes to all of our Hong Kong's contestants and I look forward to seeing you again in any occasions like today to witness the glory of the I&T community of Hong Kong. Thank you and enjoy the rest of the day.
Ends/Saturday, April 29, 2023
Issued at HKT 1:24
Issued at HKT 1:24
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