Gov’t seeks cooperation opportunities in Middle East

Collaboration could focus on energy.

Chief Executive John Lee is set to lead a delegation that will look into possible areas of cooperation between Hong Kong and the Middle East.

According to the government, his trip will include visits to Qatar and Kuwait.

Executive Council member and Legislative Councillor for the Commercial Functional Constituency Jeffrey Lam, who will be part of the delegation, said that the region has seen rapid development in recent years in areas such as finance, infrastructure and tourism. Hong Kong, meanwhile, needs to further explore opportunities overseas, given its potential as a financial hub.

“Especially after the import duty trade war started by the US, a lot of people do not want to rest all their investments or businesses in the US. So, they are looking into Hong Kong, the Middle East, Association of Southeast Asian Nations countries, etc.,” he said.

Lam hopes that the discussions will look into new energy, as oil-reliant Middle East works on diversifying its power sources.

“Solar energy is another area that we can develop,” he said. “Imagine 6.5 to 8.5 hours of sunlight, how we can save that energy and use that energy. That needs technology to accomplish it.”

The Hong Kong delegation also hopes to attract more capital from the Middle East by attracting companies to set up their regional headquarters in Hong Kong, amongst others.