The Chief Executive, Mr John Lee, met with the Prime Minister of Uzbekistan, Mr Abdulla Nigmatovich Aripov, at Government House today (May 6) to exchange views on further strengthening co-operation between Hong Kong and Uzbekistan. The Deputy Financial Secretary, Mr Michael Wong; the Deputy Secretary for Justice, Dr Cheung Kwok-kwan; the Secretary for Commerce and Economic Development, Mr Algernon Yau; and the Director of the Chief Executive's Office, Ms Carol Yip, also attended the meeting.
      
     Mr Lee welcomed Mr Aripov and his delegation to Hong Kong to attend economic and trade events. He said that Hong Kong is a functional platform for the Belt and Road (B&R) Initiative, and Uzbekistan is a major country in Central Asia with abundant natural resources and a strong labour force, and has experienced rapid economic growth. Hong Kong and Uzbekistan are both active participants in the B&R Initiative, and there is broad scope for co-operation. Hong Kong will continue to leverage its unique advantage of having the strong support of the motherland and being closely connected to the world under the "one country, two systems" principle, deepen international exchanges and co-operation, proactively explore B&R markets, and further strengthen collaboration with Uzbekistan in different areas, to jointly seize the opportunities brought by the B&R Initiative.
      
     Mr Lee said that Hong Kong is an international financial, shipping and trading centre, is the world's fifth-largest trading entity in merchandise trade economy and ranks No. 1 in the world in economic freedom, with a highly internationalised and market-driven business environment. Hong Kong is making every effort to develop into an international innovation and technology centre and an international hub for high-calibre talent. Uzbekistan's economy is growing rapidly and is vigorously promoting infrastructure development. There is vast potential for co-operation between Hong Kong and Uzbekistan. He encouraged Uzbek enterprises to establish a presence in Hong Kong and leverage Hong Kong's advantage in connecting with both the Mainland and the world to explore the Mainland and overseas markets. Hong Kong will continue to play its roles as a "super connector" and a "super value-adder", to work with Uzbekistan to explore more business opportunities for mutual benefit and win-win outcomes.
      
     Mr Lee said that Hong Kong is pressing ahead to develop into an international post-secondary education hub and is the only city in the world with five universities ranked among the world's top 100. The Hong Kong Special Administrative Region Government has set up a Task Force on Study in Hong Kong, and has launched the B&R Scholarship to attract outstanding students around the world. Mr Lee welcomed more young people from Uzbekistan to come to Hong Kong for further studies and career development, to further promote people-to-people and cultural exchanges between the two places.

Ends/Wednesday, May 6, 2026
Issued at HKT 16:45

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