Chief Executive John Lee Ka-chiu (front row, center) poses for a group photo with guests during the sixth Belt and Road Initiative International Forum and BRI Cooperation and Partnership Model Agreement Conference on Oct 13, 2023. (PHOTO PROVIDED TO CHINA DAILY)
City to showcase its commitment to contributing to BRI joint development
Hong Kong Chief Executive John Lee Ka-chiu will lead a high-level 70-strong delegation on Monday to participate in the third Belt and Road Forum for International Cooperation in Beijing.
Senior government officials, including six secretaries of departments and directors of bureaus, will join the delegation to the forum in Beijing on Tuesday and Wednesday.
The delegation also comprises 59 members from the political and business sectors, public bodies and large enterprises, as well as professional services, innovation and technology, and cultural sectors.
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Revealing the details at the sixth Belt and Road Initiative International Forum, held in Hong Kong on Friday, Lee said this year commemorates the 10th anniversary of the Belt and Road Initiative, and the Beijing forum is an international event at the highest level in promoting the BRI and a key event in China this year.
Liu Guan-gyuan encouraged the city's legal sector to actively engage in the practice of global governance and the creation of international legal systems, contribute to the formulation and negotiation of international rules, and jointly promote the BRI's high-quality development
The delegation will share with the international community Hong Kong's strengths, including the city's role as the prime functional platform in promoting high-quality development of the BRI, its professional services and unique advantage of enjoying strong support from the country and being closely connected to the world, Lee said.
Lee stressed that the city's unique strengths under the "one country, two systems" are widely appreciated, especially its robust legal and regulatory framework, which benefits from the central government's support in its rise as an international legal and dispute resolution services center and its proactive participation in the BRI.
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He said that the city has, to date, signed nine mutual legal assistance arrangements with the Chinese mainland on civil and commercial matters. And the International Organization for Mediation Preparatory Office - the first international organization dedicated to providing mediation services for settling international disputes - was set up in Hong Kong in February, Lee added.
At the same occasion, Liu Guan-gyuan, deputy director of the Liaison Office of the Central People's Government in the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region, highlighted Hong Kong's participation in, contributions toward, and benefits derived from the Belt and Road Initiative.
He encouraged the city's legal sector to actively engage in the practice of global governance and the creation of international legal systems, contribute to the formulation and negotiation of international rules, and jointly promote the BRI's high-quality development.
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Liu advocates for the city to consolidate its advantage as a legal hub and to continue promoting the integration of high-level international regulations and international exchanges on the rule of law.
At the second part of the event, the BRI Cooperation and Partnership Model Agreement Conference, Hong Kong Secretary for Justice Paul Lam Ting-kwok said he believes that as a leading international legal and dispute resolution service center in the Asia-Pacific region and beyond, Hong Kong has much to contribute to the BRI.
For example, Lam said the SAR government is developing the city into an international investment law and investor-state dispute resolution skills training base by building a strong team of investment mediators in Asia.
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Friday's event was co-organized by the International Academy of the Belt and Road, Zhejiang University Academy of International Strategy and Law, and the Asia Pacific Regional Office of the Hague Conference, with the support of the Hong Kong Basic Law Education Association.
Priscilla Leung Mei-fun, the vice-president of the International Academy of the Belt and Road, said the academy, which was established in 2016, is Hong Kong's first research institute dedicated exclusively to the research of the BRI.