The Secretary for Commerce and Economic Development, Mr Gregory So, started his duty visit in Jerusalem and Tel Aviv, Israel, yesterday (November 15, Israel time) to promote bilateral relations between Hong Kong and Israel.

     In the morning, Mr So met with the Israeli Minister of Tourism, Mr Yariv Levin, in Jerusalem. Mr So updated him on tourism developments in Hong Kong. Noting that Israel is Hong Kong's largest visitor source market in the Middle East with about 64 000 visitors coming to Hong Kong last year, Mr So said he looked forward to having more co-operation with Israel on tourism promotion in the years ahead.

     Mr So then had a meeting with the Director General of the Ministry of Economy and Industry of Israel, Mr Amit Lang. Mr So encouraged Israeli companies to establish a presence or expand their business in Hong Kong, adding that Invest Hong Kong stands ready to offer one-to-one facilitation service to Israeli businesses.

     In the afternoon, Mr So met with the Chinese Ambassador to Israel, Mr Zhan Yongxin, in Tel Aviv.

     In the evening, Mr So attended a meeting with innovative start-up entrepreneurs to learn about the start-up ecosystem in Israel and introduce to them the business opportunities in Hong Kong's start-up arena.

     Mr So will depart for Peru to attend the 28th Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation Ministerial Meeting in Lima on November 17 and 18 (Lima time).

Ends/Wednesday, November 16, 2016
Issued at HKT 10:30

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