Hong Kong will strive to join the world’s biggest free-trade agreement and expand its global “friends circle”, by leveraging the unique strengths of “one country, two systems” in 2025, Chief Executive John Lee Ka-chiu said on Tuesday.
Describing 2025 as "a year brimming with continuous good news", Lee noted several upcoming key events, including the on-going Asian Financial Forum, the public debut of Hong Kong-born panda twins in February, the grand opening of the city’s Kai Tak Sports Park in March, as well as the commencement of Saudi Arabia's visa-on-arrival policy for Hong Kong passport holders starting this Wednesday.
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Speaking to the media before the first weekly Executive Council meeting of 2025, Lee outlined the Hong Kong government's key focuses for its work in 2025.
He said that the authorities will continue to leverage the advantages of the "one country, two systems" principle and expand the city’s network of friends both domestically and internationally. This includes striving for Hong Kong's accession to the largest global free trade agreement, the Regional Comprehensive Economic Partnership, as well as enhancing economic and trade cooperation with emerging markets and regions such as the Middle East, countries in the Association of Southeast Asian Nations, and countries involved in the Belt and Road Initiative.
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In particular, Lee said that Hong Kong passport holders will enjoy visa-on-arrival access to Saudi Arabia, while Saudi nationals will benefit from an extended visa-free stay of up to 90 days in Hong Kong. With this in place, Hong Kong passport holders now enjoy visa-free or visa-on-arrival access to all six member countries of the Cooperation Council for the Arab States of the Gulf, namely Bahrain, Saudi Arabia, Oman, Kuwait, Qatar, and the United Arab Emirates. This expands the number of countries and regions offering visa-free access or visa-on-arrival to Hong Kong passport holders to 172.
On other fronts, Lee emphasized the government's commitment to uniting and leading various sectors of society in deepening reforms in a range of fields, particularly the healthcare system. He said the government this year will unveil the Chinese medicine Development Blueprint to promote the internationalization of traditional Chinese medicine. The coverage of the Residential Care Services Scheme in Guangdong will also continue to expand, he added.
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Aligning with national strategies and exploring new economic growth points are also among the government’s key focuses. In this regard, more effort will be made to enhance growth of the city’s low-altitude economy and regulations concerning medical products. Lee said action would also be taken to further promote the development of the Hetao Shenzhen-Hong Kong Science and Technology Innovation Co-operation Zone, as well as the establishment of an international hub for higher education.
