Chief Executive John Lee met with Kazakhstan's Deputy Prime Minister Kanat Bozumbayev at Government House on Tuesday to discuss deepening cooperation between the two places, following Lee's successful visit to Central Asia last week.
Lee expressed pleasure at meeting Bozumbayev for the first time and welcomed him to Hong Kong for the Alatau City Investment Round Table event scheduled for Wednesday.
During Lee's visit to Kazakhstan, he met with President Kassym-Jomart Tokayev, Prime Minister Olzhas Bektenov and two deputy prime ministers, establishing high-level liaison. The visit resulted in multiple agreements, including eight government-level cooperation documents and 53 non-government cooperation agreements and memoranda of understanding covering trade, investment, finance, technology and aviation.
Lee described the outcomes as having brought cooperation between the two places to a new level.
Lee noted that Hong Kong supports free trade and multilateralism, with Kazakhstan being Hong Kong's largest trading partner in Central Asia. Direct flights from Hong Kong to Almaty are scheduled to launch in the first quarter of next year.
Kazakhstan is developing Alatau City with a focus on technological innovation and green growth. Lee said he looks forward to complementary advantages between Hong Kong and Kazakhstan, inviting Kazakh enterprises to use Hong Kong's financial and innovation platforms. He added that Hong Kong will help local and mainland enterprises go global and explore opportunities in Central Asia.
