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The following is the speech by the Chief Executive, Mr. Tung Chee Hwa, at the Official Dinner for Prince Philippe of Belgium tonight ( May 12 ):

Your Royal Highness, Princess Mathilde, distinguished guests, ladies and gentlemen,

It gives me great pleasure to officially welcome you and your mission delegates to Hong Kong. I understand you have just had a successful official visit in the Mainland of China which I am sure would help to foster an even stronger link between Belgium and China. I hope you find your visit here equally interesting and just as fulfilling.

Your Royal Highness, your previous visit to China was at the end of 1996. Six months later, on 1 July 1997, we were proudly re-united with China. I am delighted to say that the transition under the 'one country two systems' principle, which was marked by a very moving and emotional ceremony, has been virtually seamless. You will find the same systems that were in place prior to the handover are still in place today. And the pillars of our success - the rule of law, an independent judiciary, a level playing field for business, free and open markets, the free and unfettered flow of information, and the freedoms of individuals that are so essential in today's society - are thriving.

I know your busy schedule here has given you an opportunity to get a feel for our dynamic city and to meet some of the people who help keep our economy ticking over. It has also given us a chance to get an insight into the diversified economy of Belgium and to see some of the latest creations from your country not only in fashion and jewellery, in Godiva chocolate, in dairy products, but in high-tech as well. May I offer my congratulations to you on what I know was a very sophisticated and successful event - "The Belgian Lifestyle Gala Night" - last evening.

As you know, fashion, diamonds (in particular) and high-tech are areas in which Hong Kong is deeply involved, particularly now as we embrace the new economy and the e-revolution. Innovation and technology, Internet start-ups and multi-media content have become the buzz words of a new generation of Hong Kong entrepreneurs. But while we are doing this, we are not forgetting the old economy - the traditional strengths that helped us to become one of the world's top ten trading entities and a leading international financial centre.

In this context, I believe this morning's inauguration of the new Hong Kong Central Office of Fortis Bank serves to highlight the continued confidence of Belgian companies in our future.

It reminds me that trade between Hong Kong and Belgium-Luxembourg last year increased by nearly 14% to HK$17.7 billion. This is a most welcome trend after a decline, largely as a result of the Asian financial crisis.

Your Royal Highness, countries in Asia are recovering rapidly from the Asian Financial Turmoil. As the 21st Century enfolds, we are confident that the Asian economies will have a combined GDP as high as that of NAFTA or European Union. Furthermore, China's economy continues to expand steadily and rapidly. With China's accession to WTO, China's economy will be amongst one of the largest in the world in 20 years. Given Hong Kong's strategic location in Asia and on the doorstep of the Mainland, I hope more Belgium companies will want to take full advantage of Hong Kong's unique location to expand their businesses in Asia.

Indeed, Belgium and Hong Kong share many things in common. We are both situated in a central geographical location - Belgium in Europe and Hong Kong in Asia. We are both a transport hub with a highly developed internal and external transport network and I know Belgium has one of the densest and most efficient road and railway systems in the world. We have to constantly balance the competing needs of infrastructural development to keep pace with economic growth on one hand and protecting the environment on the other. I can see a lot of opportunities for us to share experience and cooperate, and one of such areas is sustainable development.

Your Royal Highness, I know you have a special involvement in this field and you had been spearheading the setting up of the Federal Council for Sustainable Development in Belgium and you still hold the position of honorary Chairman of the Council. In Hong Kong we are a little bit behind but we are determined to catch up. We will be launching a series of bold and ambitious initiatives to protect our environment and achieve the objective of sustainable development. One of these initiatives is the setting up a Council for Sustainable Development. I hope your Royal Highness will be able to share your experience with us and give us some guidance to help us achieve this goal. We want to make Hong Kong a showcase for a quality environment. If we can become a pioneer in developing a set of innovative environmental protection technologies which are suitable for the region, we can help create a green and sustainable environment not only for our own future generations, but for our neighbours as well. I would encourage Belgium environmental companies to look into these opportunities and to establish their operations in Hong Kong.

I am pleased to say that our relations with Belgium are strong and I am sure that as a result of your visit will become even stronger in the future. Indeed, my government chose Brussels as the headquarters of our economic and trade office to strengthen and expand links with your own country and the rest of the European Union. And I am delighted that our special representative there, Andrew Wong, has returned to help make your visit to Hong Kong as smooth and successful as possible.

Your Royal Highness, once again, on behalf of the government and the people of Hong Kong, we wish you a very warm welcome to our city and hope that you will find time to come and visit us again.

May I invite all to rise and join me in a toast - To Your Royal Highnesses Prince Philippe and Princess Mathilde, and to the people of Belgium.

End/Friday, May 12, 2000

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