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S for IT visits Vancouver (with photos)
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     The Secretary for Innovation and Technology, Mr Nicholas W Yang, is paying a two-day visit to Vancouver in Canada.
      
     Mr Yang called on the Minister of State for Trade of British Columbia, Mr George Chow, this morning (September 19, Vancouver time). Both sides looked forward to strengthening collaboration on the innovation and technology front.
      
     The visit programme in Vancouver covered the VentureLabs accelerator at Simon Fraser University and a lunch meeting with senior management of technology incubator Launch Academy.
      
     Mr Yang also met with the President and Chief Executive Officer of Innovate BC, Mr Raghwa Gopal, to learn more about the work of Innovate BC in driving the innovation ecosystem of British Columbia. 
      
     Mr Yang's official visit to Canada aims to explore collaboration opportunities on the innovation and technology front with organisations and companies in Vancouver. He updated the Canadian start-up community on the vibrant start-up scene in Hong Kong, which has seen a double-digit year-on-year increase in the number of start-ups and an increase of 13 times in the total venture capital investment in Hong Kong's start-ups in 2018 as compared to the figure in 2014. He welcomed start-ups or companies in Canada to enter the Mainland and Asian market by making use of Hong Kong as the springboard.
      
     Later in the afternoon, Mr Yang paid a visit to the Vancouver Coastal Health Research Institute (VCHRI), which is one of Canada's top-funded health research organisations. With a focus on translational research and innovation, the VCHRI is a health partner of the University of British Columbia. Mr Yang was also given a tour of the Vancouver Prostate Centre to learn more about its research programmes on prostate cancer.
      
     At a meeting with the VCHRI's Executive Director, Dr Robert McMaster, Mr Yang said that Hong Kong is vigorously building up two world-class research clusters with CAD$1.67 billion on healthcare and robotics technologies to pool together the best talent from all over the world to collaborate with local research teams in Hong Kong. Mr Yang said he looked forward to seeing more collaboration between the research institutions in Hong Kong and Canada, including the VCHRI.
      
     Mr Yang then paid a courtesy call on the Chinese Consul-General in Vancouver, Ms Tong Xiaoling.
      
     Tomorrow (September 20), Mr Yang will visit LifeSciences BC before concluding his visit. He will leave Vancouver tomorrow afternoon and arrive in Hong Kong on Saturday evening (September 21).
 
Ends/Friday, September 20, 2019
Issued at HKT 14:54
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Photo

The Secretary for Innovation and Technology, Mr Nicholas W Yang (left), calls on the Minister of State for Trade of British Columbia, Mr George Chow (right), in Vancouver today (September 19, Vancouver time).
The Secretary for Innovation and Technology, Mr Nicholas W Yang (centre), visits top accelerator VentureLabs at Simon Fraser University today (September 19, Vancouver time). Joining him is the Director of the Hong Kong Economic and Trade Office (Toronto), Ms Emily Mo (second left).
The Secretary for Innovation and Technology, Mr Nicholas W Yang (right), meets with the President and Chief Executive Officer of Innovate BC, Mr Raghwa Gopal (left), today (September 19, Vancouver time) to learn more about Innovate BC's work in driving the innovation ecosystem of British Columbia.
The Secretary for Innovation and Technology, Mr Nicholas W Yang (right), learns more from the Chief Operating Officer of the Vancouver Prostate Centre, Dr Graeme Boniface (left), on research programmes on prostate cancer during his visit to the Vancouver Prostate Centre today (September 19, Vancouver time).
The Secretary for Innovation and Technology, Mr Nicholas W Yang (left), pays a courtesy call on the Chinese Consul-General in Vancouver, Ms Tong Xiaoling (right), in Vancouver today (September 19, Vancouver time).