Hong Kong Chief Executive John Lee is set to return to Hong Kong on Friday evening (June 5) after completing a five-day official visit to Central Asia, covering Kazakhstan and Uzbekistan.
On the final day of the trip, Lee visited Uzbekistan's IT Park technology hub before departing for HK. Summarizing the outcomes of the visit, he said Uzbekistan had agreed to establish a Consulate General in HK, while the governments of the two Central Asian countries and the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region signed 15 memorandums of understanding (MoUs).
In total, 96 agreements and cooperation arrangements were reached during the visit, involving projects and investments worth more than US$1.65 billion.
The trip also marked the first overseas mission led by the John Lee since the establishment of the "Mainland Enterprises Going Global," bringing together HK and mainland businesses. The delegation secured 81 cooperation agreements and memorandums during the visit.
People-to-people exchanges are also expected to become more convenient. In addition to plans by the Hong Kong Airlines to launch direct flights between HK and Almaty, HK and Uzbekistan reached related aviation cooperation agreements. Both Kazakhstan and Uzbekistan also agreed to extend the duration of mutual visa-free arrangements with HK to 30 days.
The visit further strengthened cooperation in education and culture. Several Hong Kong universities, together with the Hong Kong Palace Museum, will establish collaborative projects with local institutions in the two countries.
Lee described the visit as highly successful, saying it had laid an important foundation for HK to expand into emerging markets in Central Asia.
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