Chief Executive John Lee Ka-chiu arrived in Doha, Qatar, with a government delegation on Sunday, embarking on his second visit to the Middle East.
The city leader began his packed schedule with a meeting with the Amir of Qatar, Tamim bin Hamad Al Thani and Prime Minister and Minister of Foreign Affairs of Qatar Mohammed bin Abdulrahman Al Thani to discuss deepening economic, trade, investment, and cultural cooperation between Hong Kong and Qatar.
He also visited the Qatar Investment Authority to learn about the development of Qatar’s financial sector.
Lee will attend an evening banquet with the Chinese Ambassador to Qatar, Cao Xiaolin.
In a social media post, Lee noted that Qatar is Hong Kong’s third-largest trading partner in the Middle East, and the government highly value the investment ties with Qatar.
“Having substantially concluded negotiations for an Investment Promotion and Protection Agreement, I look forward to the early signing at a mutually agreeable time to foster more robust bilateral investment flows,” Lee wrote.
He also invited Qatar to leverage the advantages of Hong Kong as an international financial centre and an international innovation hub to explore investment and business opportunities.
Lee stated that Hong Kong would sign multiple memoranda of understanding with Qatar and Kuwait to advance cooperation projects in trade, aviation, scientific research, legal affairs, and education.
He added that he would engage with political and business leaders in Qatar to promote opportunities for enterprises from both regions under the Belt and Road Initiative and within the Greater Bay Area.
Meanwhile, Lee emphasized that the government aims to generate new opportunities for Hong Kong businesses by attracting investment from the Middle East to the city.
He also stated that authorities will facilitate collaboration between Hong Kong's financial, technological, and engineering sectors and their Middle Eastern counterparts.
