Vietnamese Consul General in Hong Kong and Macau (China) Le Duc Hanh assessed that the visit to Vietnam by Chief Executive of the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region Lee Ka-chiu showed the two sides' harmony in vision, goals and actions.
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| Deputy Prime Minister Tran Luu Quang received Chief Executive of the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region Lee Ka-chiu in Hanoi. |
Could you please tell us about the highlights of the recent visit to Vietnam by Hong Kong Special Administrative Region Chief Executive Lee Ka-chiu (from July 31 to August 2) ?
During the three days from July 31 to August 2 in Hanoi and Ho Chi Minh City, Chief Executive of the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region Lee Ka-chiu led a delegation of senior Hong Kong officials and nearly 30 large enterprises of the special administrative region, representing many diverse fields of finance, trade, innovation and technology, aviation, logistics, real estate, etc.
In Hanoi, General Secretary and President To Lam received the delegation of Chief Executive of the Special Economic Zone Lee Ka-chiu. Deputy Prime Minister Tran Luu Quang and Chief Executive of the Special Economic Zone Lee Ka-chiu held talks and co-chaired the Business Dialogue.
In Ho Chi Minh City, Comrade Nguyen Ho Hai, Standing Deputy Secretary of the City Party Committee, received the Head of the Special Zone. Comrade Phan Van Mai, Chairman of the City People's Committee, received the delegation and co-chaired the Business Forum with Mr. Ly Gia Sieu.
Eight cooperation agreements were signed in Hanoi and 22 in Ho Chi Minh City. This is a new record for the number of cooperation agreements signed during a visit by the Chief Executive of the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region to a country. The agreements cover a wide range of areas, from economic and trade cooperation to education and training, people-to-people exchanges between associations on both sides, tourism promotion and customs cooperation.
In all exchanges and contacts, the two sides expressed their sincere desire and strong determination to increase the exchange of working delegations between government levels, facilitating the exchange of experts, businesses, culture, arts and tourism.
The two sides reviewed the long-standing, strong, dynamic and ever-changing relations between the two sides in a world of constant change, opening up new opportunities for cooperation between Vietnam and Hong Kong. The visit not only marked an important milestone in the relationship between the two governments, but also affirmed the harmony between the two sides in vision, goals and actions.
The first visit to Vietnam since taking office of Chief Executive Lee Ka-chiu of the Special Administrative Region is considered an important step forward in the relationship between the two sides. What do you expect from the changes after the visit, especially in key areas that are prioritized by both sides?
This is not only the first time Mr. Lee Ka-chiu has officially visited Vietnam as Chief Executive, but also the first time a Chief Executive of the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region has officially visited Vietnam.
As Deputy Prime Minister Tran Luu Quang told Mr. Lee Ka-chao at the meeting, Vietnam and Hong Kong have actually been reliable partners for a long time. According to 2023 data from the Hong Kong Census and Statistics Department, the total trade turnover between Vietnam and Hong Kong reached 31.3 billion USD.
Vietnam is Hong Kong’s second largest trading partner in ASEAN (after Singapore) and seventh largest globally. Vietnam is the eighth largest export market to Hong Kong with a turnover of US$17.1 billion, and the fifth largest import market from Hong Kong with a turnover of US$14.2 billion.
As of December 2023, Hong Kong is the 5th largest FDI investor in Vietnam with a total accumulated investment of 34.1 billion USD. In 2023 alone, Hong Kong's investment in Vietnam ranked 3rd.
The two economies have had particularly close connections in sectors such as manufacturing, processing, real estate, and the export of agricultural and seafood products from Vietnam to Hong Kong. However, there is still a lot of room, if we consider on one side the strength of Hong Kong with its “one country, two systems” characteristics, holding the position of a “bridge” between mainland China and the world, wishing to develop into a “super-connected center”, on the other side is the strength of Vietnam, “a rising star” (according to the statement of Chief Executive Lee Ka-chiu in Ho Chi Minh City) with impressive growth rate and stable political foundation, wishing to connect more strongly with international markets, with the goal of becoming a high-income country by 2045.
From my observation, the visit has deepened the relationship between the two sides and opened up new directions of cooperation, specifically:
Firstly , the two sides agreed to support each other in participating and actively contributing to international economic forums. Hong Kong supports Vietnam in hosting APEC 2027, and Vietnam welcomes Hong Kong's intention to negotiate to join RCEP.
Second, the two sides signed memorandums of understanding on financial cooperation and on the construction of an international financial center in Ho Chi Minh City. During the visit, there were substantive contacts and discussions between experts and managers of both sides to specify the roadmap and direction for implementing this agreement.
Third , the two sides emphasized continuing to promote cooperation in training and support for startups, especially talent training and vocational training, taking advantage of Hong Kong's advantages with many world-class universities and the Hong Kong government's talent support policy. The two sides also agreed to strongly promote cooperation in science, technology and services, in which the Vietnamese side highly appreciated the team of Hong Kong experts with world-class qualifications in many fields, while the Hong Kong side modestly emphasized "mutual learning".
Fourth , the two sides reached very positive common perceptions about the cultural and historical closeness between the two sides, agreed to increase delegation exchanges, further facilitate two-way tourism and people-to-people exchanges.
Also during the visit, Chief Executive Lee Ka-chiu respectfully invited the leaders of the Vietnamese Government to attend and speak at the Belt and Road Summit to be held in September 2024 in Hong Kong.
It can be said that the results of this visit not only met the expectations of the people and businesses of both sides, but also demonstrated the long-term development vision of the leaders of both sides, reflecting the importance attached to the comprehensive strategic partnership between Vietnam and China in general, and the cooperative relationship between Vietnam and Hong Kong in particular.
One of the highlights of this visit is to promote cooperation between localities of the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region, especially promoting relations with Ho Chi Minh City, in the context of the city's orientation to build a regional and international financial center. Please tell us more about this cooperation, its goals and expectations for positive changes after the visit.
As Mr. Ly Gia Sieu said at the reception of Mr. Phan Van Mai, Chairman of the People's Committee of Ho Chi Minh City, the Hong Kong side believes that the vision of Ho Chi Minh City towards becoming an international financial center will become a reality, especially after more than a day in Ho Chi Minh City of Mr. Ly Gia Sieu's delegation, feeling the determination and dynamism of the city.
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| Consul General Le Duc Hanh visited Hong Kong Special Administrative Region Chief Executive Lee Ka-Sai to begin his term of office. |
After the visit of the Chief Executive, the Vietnamese side also understood more clearly about Hong Kong's expectation of becoming a "super-connected center", with strengths such as a team of internationally qualified experts with regional knowledge, understanding of the rules in the fields of finance, investment, international connectivity and connection with mainland China...
The cooperation agreement between the two sides comes from very realistic assessments of strengths and points that need mutual support and complementation, as well as the long-standing economic, cultural and people-to-people relationship between the two localities. Therefore, I believe that cooperation in building an international financial center in Ho Chi Minh City is feasible and will bring about real results.
During the discussions and contacts, there were very specific proposals such as Hong Kong inviting Vietnamese enterprises to participate in IPOs on the Hong Kong stock market.
However, both sides also clearly understand that the international financial center does not only include the stock market, but also includes aspects of bonds, investment, insurance, etc. Moreover, building the infrastructure for the international financial center is only the simplest part, compared to the huge amount of work to build legal institutions and, more importantly, to build a team of experts with international qualifications in the fields of finance, banking, investment, insurance, law, dispute resolution, etc. and the ability to connect in these fields, including data connection.
I think that in the coming time, to gradually implement the Memorandum of Understanding on building an international financial center in Ho Chi Minh City, the two localities will need to exchange a lot of information back and forth, as well as send delegations to work directly at many levels.
Performing the duties of the representative agency of Vietnam in Hong Kong, the Consulate General of Vietnam in Hong Kong will also need to make every effort to facilitate exchanges at all levels, from the government, localities to businesses and people, not only to implement the Memorandum of Understanding, but also to continue contributing to the development of the Vietnam-Hong Kong relationship on the momentum of "Superconnecting new routes to success" as the theme of the meeting in Ho Chi Minh City.
Thank you Consul General!
Source: https://baoquocte.vn/viet-nam-hong-kong-mo-ra-cac-huong-hop-tac-moi-giua-mot-ngoi-sao-dang-len-va-trung-tam-sieu-ket-noi-281523.html
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