President receives Chief Executive of Hong Kong Special Administrative Region (China)

On the afternoon of August 1, at the Presidential Palace, President To Lam received Mr. Lee Ka-chiu - Chief Executive of the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region (China) on the occasion of his official visit to Vietnam from July 31 to August 2, according to VNA.

President To Lam welcomed and highly appreciated the first official bilateral visit to Vietnam by the head of Hong Kong (China) since the establishment of the special administrative region in 1997; believed that the visit would contribute to strongly promoting the practical and mutually beneficial cooperation in all fields between Vietnam and Hong Kong (China) as well as actively contributing to the comprehensive strategic cooperative partnership and the Vietnam-China Community of Shared Future of strategic significance.

President To Lam affirmed that, on the basis of consistently considering the development of cooperative and friendly relations with China as a strategic choice and top priority in the foreign policy of independence, self-reliance, multilateralization and diversification, Vietnam always respects and supports the policy of "one country, two systems", the Basic Law and related regulations of Hong Kong (China), and supports Hong Kong (China) to develop prosperously, flourish and have happy people.

President To Lam emphasized that Hong Kong is a place closely associated with and marking many important events in the history of the Vietnamese revolution and the revolutionary activities of President Ho Chi Minh .

President To Lam was pleased and appreciated the fact that Hong Kong (China) is currently the 7th largest trade partner and the 5th largest FDI investor of Vietnam, while Vietnam is the 2nd largest trade partner in ASEAN and the 7th largest in the world of Hong Kong (China).

The President appreciated Hong Kong (China)'s issuance of a new policy to make it more convenient for Vietnamese citizens to enter Hong Kong (China).

Chief Executive Lee Ka-chiu emphasized that this is the first official visit to Vietnam by the head of the Hong Kong (China) government, demonstrating Hong Kong (China)'s special regard for its relations with Vietnam.

To strengthen the cooperative relationship between Vietnam and Hong Kong (China) in the coming time, President To Lam hopes that the two sides will increase exchanges at all levels; promote cooperation in the fields of economics, trade and investment; thank the Hong Kong (China) government for creating favorable conditions for the work and activities of the Vietnamese Consulate General as well as the Vietnamese community in Hong Kong (China); and hope that the Hong Kong (China) government will continue to facilitate visas for Vietnamese citizens and students to Hong Kong (China) for work, tourism and study. President To Lam also suggested that the two sides strengthen cooperation in multilateral mechanisms and forums of which Vietnam and Hong Kong (China) are members.

Chief Executive Lee Ka-chiu affirmed that the Government of the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region (China) attaches importance to developing mutually beneficial cooperative relations with Vietnam, especially in the fields of economics, trade, investment, culture, education and tourism.

Believing that cooperation between the two sides is highly complementary and has great potential, Chief Executive Lee Ka-chiu suggested that Vietnam pay attention to and exploit the advantages and special conditions of Hong Kong (China), an area that is both part of China's major development strategies and highly open to the world.

Chief Executive Lee Ka-chiu hopes that the two sides will increase exchanges and delegations between government agencies, encourage businesses and associations of both sides to connect, further promote cooperation in trade, investment, finance and banking, tourism, aviation and emerging fields such as science and technology, digital economy, digital transformation, clean energy... to continuously bring practical benefits to the people and business communities of both sides.

Source: https://laodong.vn/thoi-su/chu-tich-nuoc-tiep-truong-dac-khu-hanh-chinh-hong-kong-trung-quoc-1374724.ldo