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Following is the speech by the Chief Executive, Mr C Y Leung, at the Welcome Ceremony of the 100th FDI Annual World Dental Congress at the Hong Kong Convention and Exhibition Centre this evening (August 29):
Dr (Orlando Monteiro) da Silva, Minister Chen (Zhu), Dr (Sigmund) Leung, distinguished guests, ladies and gentlemen,
I am delighted to welcome the FDI World Dental Federation to Hong Kong.
It is a great honour for Hong Kong to host the 100th anniversary of the FDI World Dental Congress.
The FDI World Dental Federation has been spearheading the profession in the world for over a century, and today represents more than 1 million dentists worldwide. I am delighted that so many of you are in Hong Kong for this year's Congress.
The Hong Kong Dental Association has gone to great lengths to bring this event to Hong Kong and to make sure that it is a resounding success.
I also wish to thank the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and the Liaison Office of the Central People's Government in Hong Kong for their full support of our bid to host this Congress. It is a wonderful chance for us to highlight the position of Hong Kong as a regional centre of professional services and to demonstrate our warm hospitality and organisational capabilities in staging large-scale events such as this one.
Perhaps more important, it is an opportunity to share our city's experiences in promoting dental care in this region. In many ways, the vision of our dental profession over many years is very much aligned with that of the FDI.
Effective dental care is based on a holistic approach including education and promoting public awareness of new technologies, techniques and materials. There is strong collaboration between the government, academia and dentists in improving oral health.
The people of Hong Kong owe a debt of gratitude to the Hong Kong Dental Association, the Faculty of Dentistry at the University of Hong Kong and the College of Dental Surgeons at the Hong Kong Academy of Medicine.
They have all helped to maintain world class standards of dental care for our community.
The Hong Kong Dental Association has also developed a pioneering Dental Clinic Management System. It is the first open source IT system of its kind, facilitating sharing of dental records in the future.
Hong Kong is also unique because dentists registered here are able to practise in the Mainland of China. This is made possible by our free-trade pact called the Mainland and Hong Kong Closer Economic Partnership Arrangement, or CEPA.
I mention these aspects in particular because they highlight the spirit of co-operation and information sharing among the dental profession in Hong Kong and around the region.
This FDI World Congress, under the theme "Leading the World into a New Century of Oral Health", brings the sharing process to a much larger international stage. We are delighted that members from around the world are here for this important event.
I also encourage our visitors to take some time to explore our city, which offers to satisfy a wide range of interests.
May I finally wish you a very successful FDI World Dental Congress here in Asia's world city.
Thank you very much.
Ends/Wednesday, August 29, 2012
Issued at HKT 19:25
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