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The following is issued on behalf of the Legislative Council Secretariat:
At the invitation of the Speaker of the Israeli Parliament (the Knesset), Hon Jasper Tsang Yok-sing, the President of the Legislative Council (LegCo), will begin his first overseas duty visit this Sunday (July 18) to the Middle East. Mr Tsang will proceed to Jordan on July 21 after his visiting Israel.
This is the first time Mr Tsang is conducting an official overseas duty visit in his capacity as LegCo President since assuming the presidency in 2008. He hoped that the visit would strengthen the relationship between Hong Kong's Legislature and the Parliaments of Israel and Jordan.
In Israel, Mr Tsang will meet with Mr Reuven Rivlin, Speaker of the Knesset, and with Mr David Rotem, Member of the Knesset and Chairman of the Friendship Association between Israel and China. Apart from visiting the Knesset, Mr Tsang will also visit the Supreme Court of Israel and meet with Israeli judges.
Moreover, Mr Tsang will meet with Mr Daniel Ayalon, Deputy Minister of Foreign Affairs of Israel, and Ms Ruth Kahanoff, Deputy Director General for Asia and the Pacific of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs.
Mr Tsang, being keen in education and technological development, will meet with Prof. Yuli Tamir, President of Shenkar College of Engineering and Design, who is also former Minister of Education, Culture and Sport of Israel, and visit the Weizmann Institute of Science, one of the top-ranking multidisciplinary research institutions in the world.
Mr Tsang will also take the opportunity to visit Kibbutz Givat Brener, one of the biggest Kibbutzim in Israel, and receive a presentation on how the collective communities in Israel have undergone changes in recent years.
During his stay in Jordan, Mr Tsang will meet with the Prime Minister Mr Samir Al Rifai, and the former Prime Minister Mr Abed Al Raouf Al Rwabdeh. He will leave Jordan on July 24 to complete the seven-day duty visit.
Mr Tsang will be accompanied by Secretary General of the LegCo Secretariat, Ms Pauline Ng Man-wah, and Principal Council Secretary, Mr Andy Lau Kwok-cheong, on his visit to the Middle East.
Ends/Thursday, July 15, 2010
Issued at HKT 23:10
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