The Secretary for Justice, Mr Paul Lam, SC, continued to attend the 2025 Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation (APEC) Structural Reform Ministerial Meeting in Incheon, Korea, today (October 23).

     In the morning, Mr Lam met with the Deputy Minister of Trade of Indonesia, Ms Dyah Roro Esti Widya Putri, before the ministerial meeting and discussed matters of mutual interest, including capacity building on online dispute resolution.

     Mr Lam then attended the third and fourth discussion sessions of the ministerial meeting. On the topic of how structural reform can promote prosperity for all, Mr Lam stated that Hong Kong, China has always been committed to sharing the fruits of prosperity with members of the public. The Chief Executive's Policy Address this year, with the theme "Deepening Reforms for Our People and Leveraging Our Strengths for a Brighter Future", perfectly reflects this policy objective. During the discussion session, Mr Lam introduced Hong Kong, China's measures in housing, labour, healthcare, and support for the development of micro, small and medium-sized enterprises. He also elaborated on Hong Kong, China's vision of further improving people's livelihoods and building a fair and just society through legislation, updating laws, and developing the economy through reforms.

     Mr Lam visited the United Nations Commission on International Trade Law (UNCITRAL) Regional Centre for Asia and the Pacific in the afternoon and met with the Head of the Centre, Ms Athita Komindr. He thanked the Commission for its support to the Department of Justice (DoJ), emphasising the close and fruitful collaboration between the two sides over the years. The 6th UNCITRAL Asia Pacific Judicial Summit, a biennial flagship event jointly organised by UNCITRAL and the DoJ, will be held in Hong Kong during the Hong Kong Legal Week this December. To align with the theme "Linking Laws, Bridging Worlds" of the Legal Week this year, the summit will explore topics related to the application of digital economy, virtual assets, artificial intelligence, and other relevant subjects in the judicial field. Legal and dispute resolution professionals and academics from around the world will attend the summit.

     In the evening, Mr Lam paid a courtesy call on the Ambassador Extraordinary and Plenipotentiary of the People's Republic of China to the Republic of Korea, Mr Dai Bing, to brief him on the co-operation between the DoJ and the Ministry of Justice of Korea, and the future work on strengthening the promotion of the advantages of Hong Kong's legal services overseas.

     Mr Lam will continue his visit to Korea tomorrow (October 24).

Ends/Thursday, October 23, 2025
Issued at HKT 17:45

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