********************************
The Secretary for Commerce and Economic Development, Mr Gregory So, will leave Hong Kong tomorrow (May 28) for a six-day duty visit to Brussels, Belgium, and Paris, France.
Mr So will attend the Ministerial Council Meeting (MCM) of the Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD) to be held in Paris on May 29 and 30 (Paris time). He will also meet with political and business leaders in Brussels and Paris, as well as senior officials in the European Commission, to discuss ways to strengthen economic and trade co-operation between Hong Kong and Europe during his visit.
Before departing for Paris to attend the MCM, Mr So will attend a lunch hosted by the Belgian Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of Foreign Affairs, Foreign Trade and European Affairs, Mr Didier Reynders, and meet with the Vice President cum Commissioner for Industry and Entrepreneurship, Mr Antonio Tajani, and the Director-General for Communications Networks, Content and Technology, Mr Robert Madelin, of the European Commission in Brussels on May 28 (Brussels time) to exchange views on issues of mutual concern. He will also meet with the Hong Kong business community in Belgium and board members of the Belgium-Hong Kong Society to listen to their views on operating businesses and working in Belgium.
On May 29 (Paris time), Mr So will deliver a keynote address entitled "Hong Kong - A Business Hub in Asia and a Premier Gateway to China" at a luncheon co-organised by the Hong Kong Economic and Trade Office, Brussels and the Hong Kong Trade Development Council for political leaders and the business community in France. On the same night, Mr So will attend the Ministerial dinner hosted by Norway, the Chair of the 2013 OECD MCM.
On May 30 (Paris time), Mr So will address the Trade Session of the MCM on the agenda entitled "Global Value Chains, Trade and Jobs", during which ministers will discuss policy measures that could be taken to draw benefits from global value chains and more integrated markets, as well as how to make global value chains accessible to all economies. In the margins of the MCM, Mr So will also attend an informal gathering of Ministers responsible for the World Trade Organization (WTO) Doha Round negotiations. The meeting will discuss how to take forward a package including trade facilitation, agriculture and development issues for the Ninth WTO Ministerial Conference to be held in Bali, Indonesia, in December this year.
On May 31 (Paris time), Mr So will meet with the French Minister of Industrial Recovery, Mr Arnaud Montebourg, and business leaders in Paris. He will also meet with Hong Kong people living in Paris to learn about the latest business and working environment in France.
Prior to his departure from Paris, Mr So will visit a French electric company specialising in technology and solutions of energy management and explore how they could expand their business operations using Hong Kong as one of their key hubs.
Mr So will be back in Hong Kong on June 2.
Ends/Monday, May 27, 2013
Issued at HKT 14:59
NNNN
