CE Meets Singaporean Deputy PM

Chief Executive Carrie Lam met Singaporean Deputy Prime Minister and Minister for Finance Heng Swee Keat at Government House today.

She was accompanied by Secretary for Commerce & Economic Development Edward Yau and Secretary for Financial Services & the Treasury James Lau.

Mrs Lam congratulated Mr Heng on his promotion to Deputy Prime Minister and welcomed his visit to Hong Kong as part of his inaugural overseas visit.

Noting that the commitments made under the Free Trade Agreement between Hong Kong and the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) among Hong Kong and five ASEAN member states including Singapore will enter into force on June 11, she expressed her gratitude to the Singapore Government for its long-standing support for the signing of related agreements between Hong Kong and ASEAN.

The Chief Executive added she believes the development of Hong Kong and ASEAN will be further strengthened and relations between the two will be taken to a new level.

Mrs Lam noted the people-to-people exchanges and trade ties between Hong Kong and Singapore have always been close and that they share similar backgrounds and developments. Adding that both places are among the most competitive economies in the world, she said they have a lot to learn from each other.

Pointing out that Hong Kong is committed to developing innovation and technology and has devoted substantial resources and rolled out a number of specific measures, Mrs Lam expressed the hope to explore more collaboration in areas such as biotech, fintech and startups with research centres, education institutes and enterprises in Singapore.