The Chief Executive, Mr John Lee, met with the Prime Minister and Minister for Finance of Singapore, Mr Lawrence Wong, at Government House today (March 27) to exchange views on further strengthening co-operation between Hong Kong and Singapore. Also attending the meeting were the Financial Secretary, Mr Paul Chan; the Secretary for Financial Services and the Treasury, Mr Christopher Hui; the Secretary for Development, Ms Bernadette Linn; the Secretary for the Civil Service, Mrs Ingrid Yeung; the Secretary for Innovation, Technology and Industry, Professor Sun Dong; the Acting Secretary for Commerce and Economic Development, Dr Bernard Chan; and the Director of the Chief Executive's Office, Ms Carol Yip.
      
     Mr Lee welcomed Mr Wong's visit to Hong Kong with his delegation, and was pleased to meet Mr Wong in Hong Kong today following their attendance at the Boao Forum for Asia annual conference in Hainan yesterday (March 26). Mr Lee expressed support for Mr Wong's remarks at the annual conference, and stated that Hong Kong and Singapore both actively practise free trade, support the upholding of free trade and multilateralism, support international organisations, including the World Trade Organization and the United Nations, and oppose unilateralism and protectionism.
      
     Mr Lee said that Singapore has long contributed to Asia's development and prosperity. Hong Kong and Singapore will continue to deepen co-operation to bring more opportunities to Asia. He expressed his gratitude to Singapore for its continuous support for Hong Kong's accession to the Regional Comprehensive Economic Partnership, and stated that Hong Kong will proactively promote regional co-operation and economic synergy.
      
     Hong Kong and Singapore have long maintained frequent exchanges. As international trade and financial hubs, both places value the rule of law and free trade, and are supported by high-quality professional services and a strong pool of talent. Hong Kong and Singapore have also been learning from each other in continuously enhancing the quality of public policies through regular civil service exchange activities, including the Singapore-Hong Kong Permanent Secretaries Exchange Programme. Mr Lee said he looks forward to further promoting broader and deeper collaboration between the two places in economic and trade, tourism, people-to-people ties and civil service staff exchanges.
      
     Mr Lee said that the National 15th Five-Year Plan explicitly supports expediting the development of the Northern Metropolis (NM). The NM is a new engine for Hong Kong's future development, with enormous development potential and economic value. The Hong Kong Park of the Hetao Shenzhen-Hong Kong Science and Technology Innovation Co-operation Zone (Hetao Hong Kong Park) officially commenced operation at the end of last year, and is being developed into an international innovation hub. The Hong Kong Special Administrative Region Government is pressing ahead with the development of the NM at full speed, in particular the construction and development of the Hetao Hong Kong Park.
      
     Mr Lee welcomed Mr Wong's visit to the Hetao Hong Kong Park in the afternoon. He encouraged Singaporean enterprises to establish a presence in the NM and the Hetao Hong Kong Park and to participate in areas including commercial development and innovation and technology, to seize the enormous opportunities brought by the NM and the Hetao Hong Kong Park, with broader scope for collaboration between the two sides. With Hong Kong's unique strengths under the "one country, two systems" principle, enjoying the strong support of the motherland and being closely connected to the world, Hong Kong will actively play its roles as a "super connector" and a "super value-adder" in assisting Singaporean enterprises to tap into, in particular, the Mainland market, and to open up more opportunities for enterprises and investors.

Ends/Friday, March 27, 2026
Issued at HKT 18:47

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