CE begins visit program in United Arab Emirates

The Chief Executive, Mr. John Lee, started his visit program in Abu Dhabi, the United Arab Emirates (UAE) on February 7 (Abu Dhabi time).

The delegation led by Mr. Lee attended the Abu Dhabi-Hong Kong Business Forum and networking luncheon hosted by the Abu Dhabi Chamber of Commerce and Industry to exchange views on fostering co-operation between the industrial and commercial sectors in HK and the UAE. Speaking at the forum, Mr. Lee noted that the UAE is HK's largest trading partner in the Middle East, and that HK will capitalize on its advantages as an international financial center and the world's largest offshore Renminbi business hub to facilitate the UAE's active participation in the Belt and Road Initiative.

Mr. Lee and the First Vice Chairman of the Abu Dhabi Chamber of Commerce and Industry, Dr. Ali Saeed Bin Harmal Aldhaheri, witnessed the exchanges of Memorandum of Understanding between the Abu Dhabi Chamber of Commerce and Industry and the Federation of Hong Kong Industries and the Hong Kong Trade Development Council respectively, which promoted further co-operation between the two places on industry, commerce and trade.

The delegation led by Mr. Lee then visited an Abu Dhabi enterprise, Aldar Properties PJSC to learn more about the real estate development and investment there. They also visited the UAE's sovereign wealth fund, Mubadala Investment Company and met with its Managing Director and Group Chief Executive Officer, Mr. Khaldoon Khalifa Al Mubarak, to introduce HK's distinctive advantage under the "one country, two systems" in enjoying strong support of the motherland and being closely connected to the world, and discuss the collaboration opportunities with HK enterprises.

Mr. Lee then met with the Chief Executive Officer of a local tech firm G42, Mr. Xiao Peng, to introduce the enormous business opportunities in HK and to invite the company to grasp investment opportunities in the city.

Mr. Lee later had a meeting with the Managing Director of the Abu Dhabi Investment Authority, Mr. Sheikh Hamed bin Zayed Al Nahyan, who is a member of the ruling family in the Emirate of Abu Dhabi, and deliberated on issues of mutual interest on economic co-operation.

In the evening, the delegation led by Mr. Lee attended a welcoming dinner hosted by the Ambassador Extraordinary and Plenipotentiary of the People's Republic of China to the UAE, Mr. Zhang Yiming. Mr. Lee expressed his gratitude to the Embassy for its staunch support to the HKSAR Government and the Hong Kong Economic and Trade Office in Dubai, and for making detailed arrangements for the visit.

Mr. Lee will continue his visit in Abu Dhabi, the UAE today (February 8, Abu Dhabi time), and will depart for Dubai, the UAE later on.

(Source: HK. gov)