The Chief Executive, Mr John Lee, met with the Prime Minister of Vanuatu, Mr Jotham Napat, today (January 27) to exchange views on issues of mutual interest. The Deputy Financial Secretary, Mr Michael Wong, also attended the meeting.

     Mr Lee welcomed Mr Napat and his delegation to Hong Kong. Noting that bilateral trade between Hong Kong and Vanuatu continues to grow, Mr Lee said that the prospects for co-operation between the two places are broad and promising. Hong Kong enjoys the dual advantage of having national and global opportunities under the "one country, two systems" principle, and actively gives full play to the roles of a "super connector" and "super value-adder" to deepen international exchanges and co-operation to further explore the Belt and Road and the Global South countries, including Vanuatu, to accelerate the pursuit of new growth opportunities.
 
     Mr Lee said that Hong Kong will further leverage its advantages of connecting with both the Mainland and the world and its role as a functional platform for the Belt and Road Initiative, and will further strengthen economic and trade collaborations with Belt and Road economies and promote participation in green co-operation. Hong Kong and Vanuatu will together seize the opportunities presented by the Belt and Road Initiative. Hong Kong is the world's freest economy. Mr Lee welcomed enterprises from Vanuatu to leverage Hong Kong's unique advantages, such as its highly internationalised business environment and its pool of professional services talent, to explore overseas and Mainland markets, to further strengthen co-operation and exchanges across different areas between the two places, and to jointly explore more opportunities. 

Ends/Tuesday, January 27, 2026
Issued at HKT 18:00

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