The Chief Executive, Mr Tung Chee Hwa, has wrapped up his six-day European visit with a very "warm and fruitful" meeting with French President, Mr Jacques Chirac.

Emerging from an hour-long meeting with Mr Chirac at the Palais de l'Elysee, Mr Tung said he was glad to learn during his visit to France that political and business leaders placed great importance on further deepening ties between France and Hong Kong.

There were tremendous interest from French business and the banking sector in developing strategic partnerships with Hong Kong, with a view to tapping into the massive Chinese market and the Asian markets.

"I was happy to hear that President Chirac had expressed immense confidence in the future of Hong Kong. He was impressed with the smooth transition and our responsible attitude in dealing with the Asian financial turmoil," said Mr Tung.

"He shares our confidence in the future of Asia and believes that the Asian markets will recover from the turmoil."

Mr Tung said he had exchanged views with President Chirac on the single European currency, the Euro, and its impact on Asian trade with Europe.

"The successful introduction of Euro will contribute to the economic stability of the EU and such stability will be beneficial to Asia," said Mr Tung.

The Chief Executive congratulated President Chirac on his leading role in making the Euro a practical reality.

Mr Tung said he had raised with President Chirac the issue of visa-free access to France for HKSAR passport holders.

He said President Chirac was very sympathetic to the initiative from French Prime Minister Mr Lionel Jospin to send a technical team to Hong Kong to look at the issue of visa-free access.

Mr Tung said both he and President Chirac attached great importance to the further deepening of economic and cultural ties between France and Hong Kong.

President Chirac said he was deeply impressed by the significant French economic presence in Hong Kong. In response, Mr Tung welcomed continued active participation of French companies in Hong Kong's infrastructure projects and believed they would continue to succeed.

Towards the end of the meeting, President Chirac presented Mr Tung with the Officer de la Legion d'Honneur (Officer of the Legion of Honour), a French civil and military honour.

President Chirac also presented Mr Tung with a framed certificate of the notification of the Chevalier de la Legion d'Honneur (Knight of the Legion of Honour) presented in 1976 to his late father Tung Chao-yung.

Mr Tung said he was pleased to accept the honour and touched by the thoughtful gesture.

Mr Tung presented Mr Chirac with a set of paintings commemorating the reunification of Hong Kong with China. The Chief Executive invited President Chirac to visit Hong Kong.

Earlier in the day, the Chief Executive had a useful meeting with the Governor of the Bank of France, Mr Jean-Claude Trichet.

Mr Trichet briefed the Chief Executive on the implementation of the Euro and expressed full confidence that it would develop into a stable and credible currency.

"Mr Trichet explained that such development was a natural evolution given the presence of strong underlying currencies of Euro member country states in the EU," said Mr Tung.

He also said that he was impressed by the responsible attitude taken by Hong Kong and China during the current financial turmoil in Asia.

Mr Tung assured Mr Trichet that Hong Kong placed great importance on the need for prudential financial regulation and sound financial infrastructure to ensure stability in Hong Kong's banking system.

Mr Tung also met with members of an influential think-tank the Institut Francais des Relations Internationales (IFRI) at which a wide range of issues concerning Hong Kong, China and Asia were discussed.

Topics raised included the current economic situation in Hong Kong and the linked exchange rate. Think-tank members were interested in Hong Kong's education system and its development.

Mr Tung told the think-tank members that Hong Kong was fully committed to quality education and explained that only by investing in education could Hong Kong maintain and enhance its competitiveness.

Mr Tung leaves Paris tonight (Hong Kong time) and is due to arrive in Hong Kong tomorrow morning.