Hong Kong and Saudi Arabia sign Memorandum of Understanding of Cooperation on dispute avoidance and resolution

Hong kong and saudi arabia join forces for peaceful conflict resolution

The Department of Justice (DoJ) of the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region (HKSAR) and the Ministry of Justice of the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia signed a Memorandum of Understanding of Cooperation (MOU) today (April 22) to strengthen their co-operation on issues relating to dispute avoidance and resolution.

The Secretary for Justice, Mr Paul Lam, SC, and the Minister of Justice of the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia, Dr Waleed Mohammed Alsmani, signed the MOU at a ceremony held in the Hong Kong Legal Hub.

The MOU provides a framework for the HKSAR and Saudi Arabia to strengthen collaboration, communication and co-operation between them on issues relating to dispute avoidance and resolution, and to facilitate development of the related services in the two jurisdictions. It is expected that both places will benefit from the enhanced co-operation under the MOU.

This is the first MOU of the same nature that the HKSAR has with a Middle East jurisdiction, which signifies the commitment to enhance the growing ties between Hong Kong and Saudi Arabia, and foster closer relationships between legal and dispute resolution professions of both sides. The MOU is the fifth after Japan, Korea, Thailand and Brunei, which will further promote Hong Kong's status as a major centre for international legal and dispute resolution services in the Asia-Pacific region and foster exchanges in regions along the Belt and Road. The DoJ will continue to pursue and conclude co-operation or partnership arrangements with other jurisdictions and international organisations. The DoJ is planning to visit the Middle East, including Saudi Arabia, next month to meet with local legal and business sectors, and to promote Hong Kong's legal and dispute resolution services.

Mr Lam indicated that the DoJ is now taking forward the establishment of the Hong Kong International Legal Talents Training Academy which will provide a further platform for co-operation and exchanges between HKSAR and Saudi Arabia under the MOU.

On the same day, the Minister of Justice of the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia and his delegation also visited the AALCO Hong Kong Regional Arbitration Centre and the International Organization for Mediation Preparatory Office at the Hong Kong Legal Hub.

Hong Kong and Saudi Arabia sign Memorandum of Understanding of Cooperation on dispute avoidance and resolution Source: HKSAR Government Press Releases

Hong Kong and Saudi Arabia sign Memorandum of Understanding of Cooperation on dispute avoidance and resolution Source: HKSAR Government Press Releases

Hong Kong and Saudi Arabia sign Memorandum of Understanding of Cooperation on dispute avoidance and resolution Source: HKSAR Government Press Releases

Hong Kong and Saudi Arabia sign Memorandum of Understanding of Cooperation on dispute avoidance and resolution Source: HKSAR Government Press Releases

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