, the UK Minister for Asia, arrived
in Hong Kong today to reaffirm the UK’s long standing commitment to
the city.
The Minister will meet Carrie Lam, Chief Executive of the Hong
Kong Special Administrative Region Government and James Lau, the
Secretary for Financial Services and the Treasury, to discuss
trade and investment, economic cooperation and the UK-Hong Kong
relationship.
He will also discuss the political situation in Hong Kong with
legislators from a range of political backgrounds. He will stress
the UK’s continued firm commitment to the Joint Declaration and
‘One Country, Two Systems’, which were put in place to ensure the
prosperity and stability of Hong Kong and guarantee the city’s
rights and freedoms when it was handed back to China in July
1997.
The Minister will make clear that it is essential that Hong Kong
enjoys, and is seen to enjoy, the full measure of its high degree
of autonomy and commitment to the rule of law enshrined in the
Joint Declaration and Basic Law.
During the visit he will also take part in a British Council
hosted roundtable discussion with Hong Kong’s younger generation.
, Foreign & Commonwealth
Office Minister for Asia and the Pacific, said:
Hong Kong is of great importance to the UK, and our long-standing
commitment to Hong Kong as co-signatory of the Joint Declaration
is as strong as ever. I am delighted to be the first UK Minister
to visit Hong Kong since the 20th anniversary of the handover
earlier this year.
The UK remains committed to strengthening its deep and
wide-ranging relationship with Hong Kong across a number of
areas, including trade and investment, education, culture,
innovation and technology, and I look forward to discussing these
issues and more during my visit.
The visit will be the second stop of the Minister’s tour of Asia,
which also includes mainland China, South Korea and Singapore.
Background
- the visit is ’s first to Hong Kong since
becoming Minister for Asia and the Pacific at the Foreign and
Commonwealth Office in June 2017
- Hong Kong is UK’s 15th largest market for goods and services
combined, exporting £8.8 billion in 2015
- Hong Kong is the third largest sending market of
undergraduate students to UK universities
