SCS starts his visit in Europe (with photos)
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     The Secretary for the Civil Service, Mr Joshua Law, started the first leg of his visit to Europe in Helsinki, Finland, on March 5 (Helsinki time) to get an update on the management and training of the civil service there.

     Mr Law first met with the Permanent Under Secretary of the Ministry of Finance, Ms Päivi Nerg, who is responsible for human resource management in the government, to exchange views on the management and development of the civil service.

     He then had a lunch meeting with the Director General of the Department for the Americas and Asia of the Ministry for Foreign Affairs, Mr Kimmo Lähdevirta, and visited the HAUS Finnish Institute of Public Management to learn about its training programmes and facilities for the civil servants there. HAUS is actively pursuing a digitalisation programme to establish a national e-learning centre. He also paid a courtesy call on the Chinese Ambassador to Finland, Mr Chen Li.

     Mr Law will arrive in France on March 6 (Paris time) to continue his duty visit. He will visit the Paris Institute of Political Studies to learn about the Institute's experience in nurturing prospective government leaders of France. He will then visit the Ministry of Public Action and Accounts to discuss the management of the civil service.

     On March 7 (Paris time), Mr Law will visit the National School of Administration and the National Institute for Local Studies in Strasbourg to learn about their strategies and programmes for training senior civil servants in the national and local authorities in France.

     Mr Law will continue his visit in the United Kingdom on March 8 and 9 (London time) and return to Hong Kong on March 10.

Ends/Tuesday, March 6, 2018
Issued at HKT 14:20

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