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Following is the speech by the Chief Executive, Mr Donald Tsang, at the reception hosted by the First Minister of Scotland, Mr Alex Salmond, in Edinburgh today (September 15, Edinburgh time):
First Minister Salmond, honourable guests, friends, ladies and gentlemen,
It is a great pleasure to join you here in the spectacular city of Edinburgh and in this magnificent castle.
While preparing for this visit, a colleague reminded me of something Billy Connolly once said about the weather here - that there are only two seasons in Scotland: June and winter! How wrong he is! It has been a glorious day today. And when I arrived, I saw the Castle in brilliant sunset. I hope I have captured some of them on my small camera. I regretted so much that I didn't bring my real equipment here. But it was really wonderful two days here.
But I also know from previous visits to this fine city, that regardless of the weather we can always be assured of a warm and hospitable welcome from our Scottish hosts. If I was a drinking man, I would raise a wee dram in thanks!
This is both a happy and sad occasion for me. As I mentioned, it is always a pleasure to visit Scotland. But this will be my last official function, on my last official visit to Britain as Hong Kong's Chief Executive. My five-year term ends on June 30 next year.
Over the years, Hong Kong has embraced a number of Scottish traditions. Burns Night is celebrated with great gusto by those with kilts and even those without. We have a number of very good pipe bands, including our world-class Hong Kong Police Pipe Band which has performed here at the Edinburgh Tattoo. There are plenty of people who enjoy a fine single malt, or a plate of smoked Scottish salmon. And it was a Scotsman who helped launch our city's most popular sports tournament, the Hong Kong Rugby Sevens, back in 1976. Today it is the premier Rugby Sevens tournament in the world.
We might live a world apart but there are definitely strong bonds of friendship and business between Hong Kong and Scotland. And it is great to see so many friends of Hong Kong here tonight.
This has indeed been a very busy and fruitful visit to Scotland.
I had the opportunity to speak with your business community about the great opportunities for doing business in Hong Kong and throughout Asia.
I was able to highlight Hong Kong's advantages as a global financial centre in the Asian time zone and as a premier international gateway to Mainland China and across our region.
I have also discussed the many opportunities for Scottish entrepreneurs brought about by Hong Kong's close integration with Mainland China.
At the same time, I have seen first-hand the enormous potential for Hong Kong companies to build stronger links with their Scottish counterparts.
I have had the honour of meeting business and political leaders as well as pioneers in various fields including education, research and development, bioscience and clean energy.
I have also been introduced to one of Scotland's more unusual inventions, whisky biofuel - which made me wonder whether this would be considered as drink driving!
All in all, this has been an enjoyable and eye-opening visit.
Scottish businessmen, administrators, bankers, educators and medical practitioners have been prominent in Hong Kong since the earliest days of our city's development.
But this visit has been less about our connections to the past, and much more about our connections to the future.
I see great opportunities for much broader exchanges between us covering education, innovation, business, finance, arts, culture, sports and much more.
Scotland, with its rich heritage and proven track record for bright ideas, is an ideal partner for Hong Kong. In parallel, Hong Kong provides a dynamic business-friendly environment right in the heart of Asia for Scottish businesses to fulfill their potential.
I am confident that the future for our bilateral relations remains extremely bright.
Once again, thank you for this splendid finale to what has been an enjoyable and successful visit to Scotland. You can rest assured I will come back, as a layperson, as a friend, and as a Donald. I cannot keep you away. There are so many things to see, many friends to make, and many bonds to make as well.
I hope you all have a wonderful evening. I also wish Scotland a successful campaign in the Rugby World Cup under way in New Zealand, and I look forward to seeing you in Hong Kong soon.
In the meantime … Slange Var.
Ends/Friday, September 16, 2011
Issued at HKT 05:05
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