The Chief Secretary for Administration, Mr Donald Tsang, said today (November 26) that cooperation among provincial, autonomous and special administrative region Governments in the Pan-Pearl River Delta (Pan-PRD) region would open up opportunities for Hong Kong.

Addressing the Pan-PRD Think-tanks Cooperation Meeting organised by the Central Policy Unit, Mr Tsang said that provinces/autonomous region in Pan-PRD region were important manufacturing bases and consumer markets. With a cosmopolitan outlook and a competitive edge in capital, financing and information, Hong Kong would be a proactive promoter and service provider in enhancing the future development of the region.

"Being a cosmopolitan city, Hong Kong can make use of its advantage to encourage regional and, in particular, private enterprises to set up offices here for activities in trading, investment and corporate finance. As such, the territory will become a 'gateway' to the world.

"Government promotion, coupled with market-driven strategies, is the important principle underlying cooperation within the Pan-PRD region. And policy research is a prerequisite of Government promotion efforts. We believe that today's Cooperation Meeting will be a starting point for cooperation among Government think-tanks in the Pan-PRD region. More concrete proposals will emerge from the meeting. These will form the basis for making decisions and mapping out action plans in promoting economic cooperation in the Pan-PRD region," Mr Tsang said.

Representatives from nine provinces /autonomous region in the Mainland and the Macao Special Administrative Region (SAR) came to Hong Kong to participate in the Cooperation Meeting. In addition, there were representatives from the Ministry of Commerce, the Hong Kong and Macao Affairs Office of the State Council, and Liaison Office of the Central People's Government in the Hong Kong SAR.

Participants discussed ways to further improve bilateral cooperation between Hong Kong and other signatories of the Pan-PRD Regional Cooperation Framework Agreement. They also exchanged views on how to enhance cooperation among Governments in the Pan-PRD region.

They said that Governments should optimise their functions, taking account of the development conditions and market needs in the Pan-PRD region. Under the principle of "One Country, Two Systems", the establishment of a regional market system should be expedited to eliminate barriers of economic development. The further opening up of the market would enable enterprises in the Pan-PRD region to face global competition and cooperation in a better way.

There is also a need to co-ordinate the economic development of the region through macro planning with respect to market forces.

In addition, participants also noted that economic and trading activities and various kinds of cooperation were more active and frequent since the Pan-PRD Regional Cooperation Framework Agreement was signed in June this year.

Discussions were held on the bilateral cooperation between Hong Kong and other members of the Pan-PRD region. These included the investment arrangements for Hong Kong businessmen; Hong Kong's participation in infrastructure developments, particularly in transport and communication as well as energy development; listing of mainland enterprises in Hong Kong's Stock Exchange to raise capital; encouraging enterprises especially private enterprises in the region to set up business in Hong Kong and to use Hong Kong as a gateway to international markets; the introduction of Hong Kong's logistics industry into the mainland and the establishment of an efficient logistics network; and the joint development of tourist markets.

Participants agreed that since the signing of the Framework Agreement in June, there had been more active economic and trading activities in the region. About 30 regional cooperation meetings on various subjects had been held at official and non-official levels.

At the Cooperation Meeting, the Central Policy Unit agreed with a number of participating government research institutes in the region topics for joint research.

Held at the Hong Kong Convention and Exhibition Centre, the Cooperation Meeting was attended by: Vice Secretary-general and Director of Development Research Department of the People's Government of Hainan Province, Mr Wang Yixin; Vice Secretary-general and Director of Development Research Department of the People's Government of Yunnan Province, Mr Che Zhimin; Director of Development Research Centre of the People's Government of Fujian Province, Mr Cai Deqi; Director of Development Research Centre of the People's Government of Guizhou Province, Mr Wang Liquan; Deputy Director of Development Research Centre of the People's Government of Guangdong Province, Mr Li Huiwu; Vice Secretary-general, Mr Liu Qinxuan, and Mr Zhang Jianping of the People's Government of Hunan Province; Deputy Director of Development Research Centre of the People's Government of Jiangxi Province, Mr Liu Liming; Deputy Director of Development Research Centre of the People's Government of the Guangxi Zhuang Autonomous Region, Mr Cui Zhongren; Division Head of Research Department of the People's Government of Sichuan Province, Mr Wan Qun; Chief-of-Office, Office of the Chief Executive, Macao SAR Government, Mr Ho Veng-on; Director-general of the Department of Exchange & Cooperation of the Hong Kong and Macao Affairs Office of the State Council, Mr Qian Lijun; Representative of the Ministry of Commerce of the State Council, Mr Chen Zhituan; and Deputy Director-general of the Research Department, Mr Ye Xingping, and Mr Yan Yi of the Liaison Office of the Central People's Government in the Hong Kong SAR.

(Source: Hong Kong Special Administrative Region Government website)

Editor: Catherine