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The Secretary for Commerce and Economic Development, Mr Gregory So, will leave Hong Kong on May 31 for a seven-day duty visit to Berlin in Germany and Paris and Burgundy in France.
Upon arrival in Berlin, Mr So will meet with the Hong Kong community there. On June 1 (Berlin time), Mr So will meet with the Senator for Economics, Technology and Research of the Berlin Government, Ms Cornelia Yzer, to discuss ways to strengthen economic and trade co-operation between Hong Kong and Germany. Mr So will take the opportunity to pay a courtesy call on the Envoy of the Chinese Embassy in Germany, Mr Li Xiaosi. Mr So will attend a roundtable discussion on intellectual property trading and speak at a gala dinner, with both events organised by the Hong Kong Economic and Trade Office, Berlin (Berlin ETO). He will also visit a Berlin-based accelerator for digital entrepreneurs.
On June 2 (Berlin time), Mr So will attend a high-level lunch co-organised by Berlin ETO and the Association of German Chambers of Commerce and Industry. On the same day, Mr So will visit Adlershof, which is a high-tech park project of the Berlin Government, and a German company that works on solutions for affordable charging infrastructure.
On June 3 (Berlin time), Mr So will depart Berlin for Paris, France, to attend the Ministerial Council Meeting (MCM) of the Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD) to be held on June 3 and 4 (Paris time). In the evening on June 3, Mr So will attend the ministerial dinner hosted by the Netherlands, the Chair of the 2015 OECD MCM.
During the Trade, Investment and Development session of the MCM on June 4 (Paris time), Mr So will join a working lunch for the trade and investment nexus segment, during which ministers will review the role of trade and international investment in supporting economic growth and jobs, and, in particular, how the OECD can continue to support governments' efforts to combat protectionism and further strengthen the multilateral trading system. On the margins of the MCM, Mr So will attend a World Trade Organization (WTO) informal ministerial meeting. The meeting will discuss how the WTO can take forward the negotiating agenda to address the outstanding issues in the Doha Round of negotiations and prepare for the 10th WTO Ministerial Conference. Mr So will also attend a ministerial breakfast meeting on trade in services agreement hosted by the United States.
Mr So will depart Paris for Burgundy in the morning of June 5 (Paris time). Upon arrival, he will visit a local company specialising in innovative closed-circuit television solutions. He will also meet with Burgundy regional government officials and the local business community to discuss issues of mutual concern.
Mr So will leave France on June 6 (Paris time). The Under Secretary for Commerce and Economic Development, Mr Godfrey Leung, will be the Acting Secretary for Commerce and Economic Development during Mr So's absence.
Ends/Friday, May 29, 2015
Issued at HKT 18:00
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