STH's speech at Belt and Road Initiative seminar in Tel Aviv (English only) (with photo)
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Mr (Paul) Loo, Ambassador (Yaffa) Ben-Ari, Ms (Galit) Zahavi, distinguished guests, ladies and gentlemen,
Good afternoon. I am very honoured to be invited to speak at today's Belt and Road Seminar here in Tel Aviv, a vibrant and innovative city which is strategically located along the "Belt and Road" corridor. Tel Aviv is also familiar to us from Hong Kong in terms of the warm weather right now. I thank the Cathay Pacific Airways and the Hong Kong Trade Development Council for co-organising this important seminar.
The "Belt and Road" Initiative was first launched by China in 2013. Just last month, on May 14-15, China hosted the Belt and Road Forum for International Cooperation, attended by representatives from some 130 countries including 29 heads of state and government. Israel was also represented.
"Belt and Road" refers to the land-based "Silk Road Economic Belt" and the seagoing "21st Century Maritime Silk Road", covering more than 60 countries across Asia, Europe and Africa, and accounting for over 30 per cent of global GDP.
The Belt and Road Initiative provides a visionary blueprint which seeks to forge new ties among different economies by promoting cooperation in a variety of areas, including but not limited to finance, trade, infrastructure planning and construction, and encouraging people-to-people exchanges. The Initiative brings about a new global platform for international cooperation which will have lasting impact on multi-lateral relations.
With the support of the Central Government of China and leveraging on our own institutional strengths and a strong professional talent pool soft power, we in Hong Kong take great pride in our role as a "super-connector" between the Mainland of China and the rest of the world, to serve as a key link for the Belt and Road.
Hong Kong enjoys clear competitive edges. We are an open and efficient economy, with a vibrant banking and financial centre underpinned by the rule of law, earning the reputation as the world's freest, and also, most competitive economy. Hong Kong is geographically convenient, superbly well served and located on the Far East trade routes. Through advanced technology and infrastructure and an extensive network of aviation and logistics services, Hong Kong is one of the world's busiest and best "connected" transport hubs.
Our infrastructure is ranked for seven years in a row as number one in the world by the World Economic Forum's Global Competitiveness Study. As the Secretary responsible for transport development, let me share with you how Hong Kong is performing as an international aviation hub and the initiatives we are taking forward to grasp new opportunities.
Thanks to our strategic geographical location and the excellent connectivity of our airport, Hong Kong can reach half of the world's population within just five hours' flying time. Currently, the Hong Kong International Airport hosts more than 100 airlines. We have over 1 100 flights every day, connecting to some 190 international destinations (including over 40 on the Mainland of China). Our airport has been the world’s busiest cargo hub for six consecutive years, and is also the third busiest international passenger airport, after Dubai and London Heathrow. Last year, it handled over 70 million passengers and 4.5 million tonnes of cargo.
To cope with the ever-increasing air traffic demand, we have embarked on a mega project to upgrade and expand our airport to a three-runway system. Works for this eight-year project commenced last August. When the three-runway system is fully commissioned, the Hong Kong International Airport's capacity will leapfrog to handle about 100 million passengers and nine million tonnes of cargo a year.
In the meantime, Hong Kong has also been busy investing in expansion and upgrading works and service enhancement schemes under the current two-runway system, including a new Midfield Concourse with 20 parking stands and state-of-the-art facilities, and expansion of existing terminal buildings. All these projects aim to enhance the total experience of our travellers coming from all over the world.
Besides, to cultivate the talent pool of our aviation sector as well as meeting the region's needs, a new Hong Kong International Aviation Academy has been set up. The Academy has signed an agreement with the National School of Civil Aviation of France to jointly develop air transport management programmes. We expect the Academy to grow into a key regional training centre, with a vision to serve the Belt and Road aviation communities in the longer run.
Our progressive liberalisation policy on air services has helped inject vibrancy into our aviation industry and open up new opportunities. At present, Hong Kong has already signed Air Services Agreements, or ASAs in short, with 67 aviation partners, including more than 40 Belt and Road countries. This morning, we have just signed an Agreed Amendment to our ASA with Israel, to provide stronger legal framework for aviation links between Hong Kong and Israel, which will promote more economic and trade activities, as well as cultural exchanges between the two places. We will continue to strive for negotiating new, as well as expanding existing, Air Services Arrangements with other aviation partners.
We are also devoting more efforts to growing and diversifying Hong Kong's aviation services. We have most recently launched a new dedicated tax regime to promote aircraft leasing business in Hong Kong, now pending legislative approval. Our proposal has received overwhelming support from our aviation and financial industries, as well as positive interest from companies abroad. Under our new tax regime, which offers one of the world's lowest tax rates for aircraft leasing business, we expect Hong Kong to become one of the major aircraft leasing hubs of the world, along Ireland and Singapore.
Ladies and gentlemen, it is a great pleasure for me to share with you our vision and perspective. The Belt and Road Initiative will provide great impetus to drive economic and social development and promote further international cooperation and people-to-people exchanges across different nations and arenas. We look forward to having Israeli businesses and traders as our partners in capturing the abundant opportunities lying ahead.
Thank you very much.
Ends/Friday, June 9, 2017
Issued at HKT 10:42
Issued at HKT 10:42
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