Chief Executive John Lee met Prime Minister of Papua New Guinea James Marape at Government House today.
Mr Lee welcomed Mr Marape’s visit to Hong Kong, noting that the two places enjoy close business ties.
He noted that despite the challenges of the COVID-19 pandemic, the value of merchandise trade between Hong Kong and Papua New Guinea recorded an increase of 34% in the past three years, rising from US$65 million in 2019 to US$87 million in 2022.
Highlighting that in 2018 Papua New Guinea became the first Pacific country to sign a memorandum of understanding with China on co-operation under the Belt & Road Initiative, the Chief Executive encouraged more Papua New Guinean enterprises to leverage Hong Kong’s strengths, including its commitment to the rule of law, its free flow of information and capital, and its simple and competitive tax system, to seize opportunities brought by the initiative.
Mr Lee added that he looks forward to strengthening Hong Kong’s ties and co-operation with Papua New Guinea and to jointly exploring further opportunities which can be of mutual benefit.