CE welcomes over 200 delegates of Second 2024 ABAC Meeting in Hong Kong

Exciting news: ce hosts successful second 2024 abac meeting with over 200 delegates in hong kong

The Chief Executive, Mr John Lee, today (April 23) hosted a welcome dinner for the Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation (APEC) Business Advisory Council (ABAC) delegates attending the second 2024 ABAC Meeting in Hong Kong from April 22 to 25.

With the attendance of more than 200 ABAC members and staffers from APEC's 21 member economies, the second 2024 ABAC Meeting focuses its discussions on business sector priorities in the key areas of trade and investment facilitation, digital transformation, sustainability and inclusion under the theme "People, Business, Prosperity" for ABAC 2024, chaired by ABAC Peru.

Speaking at the welcome dinner, Mr Lee highlighted the commitment of Hong Kong, China (HKC) to APEC. "We firmly believe in regional economic integration. We believe that co-operation, at every level, is essential if we are to overcome our shared global challenges," he said.

"More than good business partners, the economies of APEC are incubators of ideas, promoting inclusive, innovative and sustainable growth for the Asia-Pacific region. We value the input and insights of ABAC and its business leaders in realising these collective goals," he said.

Mr Lee also shared with ABAC delegates HKC's growth strategy through innovation, inclusiveness and sustainability, adding that he looked forward to working with the ABAC business community in fostering growth in the region.

The second 2024 ABAC Meeting was officially opened this morning at the Hong Kong Convention and Exhibition Centre. Addressing at the opening ceremony, the Financial Secretary, Mr Paul Chan, stressed Hong Kong's staunch commitment to forging closer regional collaboration. He said, "As a member of APEC, Hong Kong, China is a proud contributor to the region's economic development. We are committed to communicating and co-operating with other member economies to advance the APEC and ABAC agenda, for the benefits of the businesses and people in the region."

Mr Chan highlighted three areas on which Hong Kong could further work together with ABAC, namely to promote international free trade and overcome roadblocks to supply chain and logistics network; advance regional green transition and transformation; and drive the growth of the digital economy.

The second 2024 ABAC Meeting, spanning four days, will continue to engage ABAC delegates in in-depth discussions on regional economic integration, sustainability, human development and innovation. In addition to meetings, the delegates will have the opportunity to visit various places in Hong Kong to experience its cultural scenes, performance sports, latest technological development, start-up ecosystem, smart health care, conservation efforts and world-class logistics infrastructure.

Set up in 1989, APEC is a forum for high-level government-to-government dialogue on trade and economic issues. It currently comprises 21 member economies.

ABAC was established in 1996 as a permanent business advisory body to provide advice to APEC on business sector priorities. The Chief Executive has appointed Ms Marjorie Yang, Ms Mary Huen and Ms Nisa Leung as HKC's representatives to ABAC, as well as Mr Spencer Fung and Mr Duncan Chiu as HKC's alternate representatives.

CE welcomes over 200 delegates of Second 2024 ABAC Meeting in Hong Kong Source: HKSAR Government Press Releases

CE welcomes over 200 delegates of Second 2024 ABAC Meeting in Hong Kong Source: HKSAR Government Press Releases

CE welcomes over 200 delegates of Second 2024 ABAC Meeting in Hong Kong Source: HKSAR Government Press Releases

CE welcomes over 200 delegates of Second 2024 ABAC Meeting in Hong Kong Source: HKSAR Government Press Releases

Source: AI-generated images

High-level meeting with japanese officials: urgent concerns over fukushima's nuclear contaminated water discharge

The Secretary for Environment and Ecology, Mr Tse Chin-wan, met the Parliamentary Vice-Minister for Agriculture, Forestry and Fisheries, Mr Takahashi Mitsuo, and the Consul-General of Japan in Hong Kong, Mr Kenichi Okada, today (May 3) upon request and discussed about the discharge of nuclear-contaminated water in Japan.

Mr Tse reiterated at the meeting that the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region (HKSAR) Government has come to the view that there is currently no guarantee from the Japanese authorities that their purification and dilution system can operate continuously and effectively in the long term, and that the discharge will not pose any potential risks to food safety and marine ecology. Safeguarding food safety and public health in Hong Kong is the responsibility of the HKSAR Government, thus corresponding precautionary measures must be taken. The HKSAR Government will closely monitor developments of the discharge, so as to obtain more monitoring and scientific data in order to further examine the impact of the Fukushima nuclear-contaminated water discharge on food safety, and keep under review relevant counter measures. Should anomalies be detected, the Government does not preclude further tightening the scope of the import ban.

In response to the Japanese Government's earlier decision to discharge nuclear-contaminated water at the Fukushima Nuclear PowerStation into the sea, the Director of Food and Environmental Hygiene issued a Food Safety Order which prohibits all aquatic products, sea salt and seaweeds originating from the 10 metropolis/prefectures, namely Tokyo, Fukushima, Ibaraki, Miyagi, Chiba, Gunma, Tochigi, Niigata, Nagano and Saitama, from being imported into and supplied in Hong Kong.For other aquatic products, sea salt, and unprocessed or processed seaweed from Japan that are not prohibited from being imported into Hong Kong, the Centre for Food Safety of the Food and Environmental Hygiene Department will conduct comprehensive radiological tests to verify that the radiation levels of these products do not exceed the guideline levels before they are allowed to be supplied in the market.

Besides, all vegetables, fruits, milk, milk beverages and dried milk originating from Fukushima are banned from importing into Hong Kong while such foods originating from the four prefectures nearby Fukushima, i.e. Ibaraki, Tochigi, Chiba and Gunma, are allowed to be imported on the condition that they are accompanied with a radiation certificate and an exporter certificate issued by the Japanese authority. Chilled or frozen game, meat and poultry, and poultry eggs originating from the above five prefectures are allowed to be imported on the condition that they are accompanied with a radiation certificate issued by the Japanese authority which shows the radiation levels do not exceed the guideline levels of the Codex Alimentarius Commission.

Source: AI-generated images