HONG KONG – The governments of Guangdong province and Hong Kong and Macao special administrative regions on Friday signed a framework agreement to enhance cooperation in emergency management and response.

The framework agreement aims at establishing a government-led cooperation mechanism for emergency response, with professional emergency rescue forces as the mainstay and actions as the core, and strengthening emergency response capabilities of the three places, so as to cope with accidents, disasters, natural disasters and other contingencies affecting the three areas.

Guangdong Director of the Department of Emergency Management Wang Zaihua, Hong Kong Secretary for Security Chris Tang Ping-keung and Macao Commissioner General of the Unitary Police Service Leong Man-cheong signed the framework agreement on behalf of governments in the three places.

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Vice Minister of the Ministry of Emergency Management Xu Jia'ai and Member of the Office Leadership of the State Council's Hong Kong and Macao Affairs Office Xiang Bin attended the signing ceremony. Guangdong Executive Vice-Governor Zhang Hu, Hong Kong Chief Secretary Eric Chan Kwok-ki and Macao Secretary for Security Wong Sio-chak witnessed the signing.

The three governments are jointly formulating a new Greater Bay Area Emergency Response Operational Plan tailored for cities in the Guangdong-Hong Kong-Macao Greater Bay Area, the HKSAR government said in a statement on Friday.

The plan covers a technical and knowledge exchange mechanism, resource sharing mechanism, and emergency mobilization and coordination mechanism, to promote overall improvement in emergency management in the three places, achieve effective utilization and rational sharing of emergency response resources, and enhance the effectiveness of cross-boundary rescue.

The three governments hope to set up a task force on Guangdong-Hong Kong-Macao emergency management cooperation and hold its first meeting within this year to take stock of the emergency management cooperation experience and chart out future developments of Guangdong-Hong Kong-Macao emergency management, the statement added.

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After the signing ceremony, the HKSAR government hosted a welcome dinner to thank the central authorities and the Guangdong and Macao governments for their staunch support for emergency management cooperation in the three places.