Chief Executive Visited Belgium

Hong Kong's Chief Executive, Mrs Carrie Lam, visited Belgium and the European Union on 14-15 June 2018 as a part of her tour in Europe covering also France.

During her two-day visit in Belgium on 14-15 June 2018, Mrs Lam met with senior officials and figures in the European Union and Belgium, including the European Commission's President Mr. Jean-Claude Junker; the High Representative of the Union for Foreign Affairs and Security Policy cum Vice-President, Ms Frederica Mogherini; the King of Belgians, HM King Philippe; and the president of the Belgian Chamber of Representatives, Mr Siegfried Bracke to strengthen bilateral relationships between Hong Kong and the EU as well as Belgium. She also met with the European Commissioner for Trade, Ms Cecilia Malmström, and the Belgian Deputy Prime Minister cum Minister of Foreign Affairs, Foreign Trade and European Affairs, Mr Didier Reinders, at the business luncheon co-organised by the European Chamber of Commerce in Hong Kong and the Hong Kong Economic and Trade Office Brussels. At the above business luncheon, Mrs Lam delivered a keynote speech on the growing and evolving relations between Hong Kong and the EU, as well as Hong Kong's aspiration to become a global hub for innovation and technology and to play an important role in the Belt and Road Initiative and the Guangdong-Hong Kong-Macao Bay Area Development. Besides, Mrs Lam called on the Head of Mission of China to the EU, HE Zhang Ming, the Chargé d'Affaires of the Chinese Embassy to Belgium, Mr Zhang Chi.

During her visit in Belgium, apart from making political calls, Mrs Lam officiated at the cocktail event organised by the Cathay Pacific Airways with the support of the Airport Authority Hong Kong. Mrs Lam briefed the attendees on Hong Kong's role as an aviation hub of the region, and congratulated Cathay Pacific Airways for launching direct services between Hong Kong and Brussels since March 2018, which she believed would promote trade and business as well as cultural exchange between the two places. She also visited the Magritte Museum in Brussels, which brings together the world's largest collection of the renowned Belgian surrealist artist René Magritte. Mrs Lam also visited the GlaxoSmithKline Vaccines' headquarters in Wavre and received a briefing on the company's research and development operation as well as their experience with carrying out clinical trials in Hong Kong.

For more information, please visit the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region's Website.