HKSAR 25th Anniversary Luncheon and Business Seminar in Lisbon

Continuing to celebrate the 25th anniversary of the establishment of the HKSAR by bringing the message of "A New Era - Stability • Prosperity • Opportunity" to Europe, HKETO, Brussels held the Hong Kong Seminar in Europe 2022 followed by a luncheon in Lisbon.

In his welcoming remarks, Special Representative for Hong Kong Economic and Trade Affairs to the European Union, Mr Eddie Cheung, noted that one of the effects of the COVID-19 pandemic had been a tendency for countries to be more inward-looking and there had been a loss of trust.

'Now is the right time to reinforce globalisation, to build trust and multilateralism,'; he said, 'Hong Kong is a founding member of the World Trade Organization. We have supported multilateralism from day one. There are no tariffs in Hong Kong, and we are a platform for international exchanges of business, culture and people.';

Mr Cheung added that, 'more cooperation, more international trust will benefit not just one side, but be a multilateral benefit.'; The seminar, with high-level speakers from both the Government and the business sector, from Mainland China, Hong Kong and Europe, has been the best example demonstrating the value and importance of international cooperation.

The event, attracting close to 200 participants, was organised in cooperation with the Federation of Hong Kong Business Associations Worldwide, the Portugal-Hong Kong Chamber of Commerce and Industry (PHKCCI), and the Hong Kong Trade Development Council (HKTDC).

The speakers included (in alphabetical order):

• HKTDC Regional Director for Europe, Central Asia & Israel, Mr Silas Chu;
• Portugal's former Secretary of State of Internationalisation, Mr Jorge Costa Oliveira;
• Deputy CEO at HSBC Continental Europe, Mr Chris Davies;
• Hong Kong's Acting Director-General of Trade, Mr Francis Ho;
• Vice-President of the PHKCCI, Mr Óscar Madureira;
• President of the PHKCCI, Mr Bernardo Mendia;
• Minister of the Chinese Mission to the European Union, Mr Peng Gang;
• Director-General of Investment Promotion at Invest Hong Kong, Mr Stephen Philips;
• President of the Federation of Hong Kong Business Associations Worldwide, Mr Hans Poulis;
• CEO at Trilogi, Mr Màrius Rossell;
• Portuguese entrepreneur, Mr Tim Vieira;
• Chairman of the China Chamber of Commerce to the European Union and Chairman of the Bank of China (Europe) S.A., Mr Xu Haifeng; and
• Ambassador of the People's Republic of China to Portugal, Mr Zhao Bentang.