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The Secretary for Commerce and Economic Development, Mr Gregory So, will leave for Japan today (May 13) for a five-day visit to promote Hong Kong's co-operation with the country in the areas of bilateral trade, tourism and creative industries, and to see for himself the recovery progress there after the 2011 earthquake and tsunami.
While in Japan, Mr So will meet with senior Japanese government officials to exchange views with them on Hong Kong-Japan co-operation and bilateral relationships.
Mr So will deliver keynote speeches at the "Think Global, Think Hong Kong" Symposium staged by the Hong Kong Trade Development Council (HKTDC) in Tokyo and Osaka, and at the Gala Dinner organised by the HKTDC in Tokyo. He will make use of the occasions to meet with leaders from the government, political and business sectors to promote Hong Kong as an ideal service platform for overseas companies entering the global markets, especially the huge one in the Mainland.
To further promote Hong Kong's reputation as a tourist destination for great food, Mr So will officiate at the opening ceremony of the Chinese Food Exhibition 2012 organised by the Japan Association of Chinese Cuisine, where a booth set up by the Hong Kong Tourism Board will showcase some of the food from the Best of the Best Culinary Awards, Hong Kong's biggest annual culinary event.
He will also visit the "Tian Tian Xiang Shang" statue exhibition in Tokyo, an exchange project showcasing works created by designers and students in Hong Kong and Japan, and deliver an opening speech at the Creative Asia Forum. The latter provides a platform for cross-disciplinary dialogue and collaboration among creative industries practitioners from Hong Kong and Japan.
The exhibition and forum are programmes under the "Hong Kong + Japan: Crossing Partnership in Creativity" project launched by the Hong Kong Economic and Trade Office (Tokyo), which marks Hong Kong Design Year 2012.
In addition, Mr So will visit the headquarters of Nissan Motor Company Limited at Yokohama, and tour its car gallery.
To learn more about the recovery efforts made by the Japanese government and people from the damage done by the earthquake and tsunami, Mr So will also visit the Sendai Airport and a school in the city, and meet with senior officials of the Miyagi Prefecture and Sendai City Government.
Mr So will return to Hong Kong on May 17.
Ends/Sunday, May 13, 2012
Issued at HKT 09:01
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