On 28 – 29 November 2019, the Honourable Mrs. Carrie Lam, Chief Executive of Hong Kong Special Administrative Region (SAR) of the People’s Republic of China, paid an official visit to the Kingdom of Thailand as the guest of H.E. Dr. Somkid Jatusripitak, Deputy Prime Minister of the Kingdom of Thailand. The purpose of the visit was to deliberate on the issues discussed between both sides during the official visit to Hong Kong SAR by the Deputy Prime Minister during 23 – 25 October 2019 with a view to translating them into concrete outcome.

 

During the morning of 29 November 2019, the Deputy Prime Minister and the Chief Executive of Hong Kong Special Administrative Region (SAR) of the People’s Republic of China co-chaired the inaugural High-Level Joint Committee (HLJC) Meeting at the Government House. The meeting was attended by high-level representatives from public and private sectors of both sides. Both sides discussed ways and measures to promote economic cooperation in six key areas as follows:

 

(1) Trade – Both sides supported the diversification of trade such as the promotion of premium agricultural products and trade in the service sector, particularly tourism, real-estate, and logistics. Both sides also agreed to start exploratory talks on the Thailand – Hong Kong Free Trade Agreement. They shared the goal of achieving the bilateral trade target of USD 20 billion in 2020; 

 

(2) Relocation and Investment – Both sides agreed to facilitate the relocation of enterprises from Hong Kong SAR to Thailand and to review the Agreement on the Promotion and Protection of Investment between the Government of the Kingdom of Thailand and the Government of the Hong Kong SAR, China, which was signed in 2005, to correspond with the present context;

 

(3) Finance – Both sides supported connectivities between the stock exchanges and regulators of Thailand and Hong Kong SAR through new cross-border financial products, and explore ways for potential enterprises of both sides to raise funds through cross-listing and innovative financial products as well as promote new financial products such as green finance; 

 

(4) Creative Industries – Both sides agreed to deepen cooperation in potential areas such as film co-production, post-production, and design. The two sides have also agreed to promote networking and cooperation between enterprises as well as encourage their participation in international events organised by each side;  

 

(5) Digital and Technology Start-ups – Both sides agreed to promote digital/technology ecosystem with a view to elevating and increasing business competitiveness of SMEs and Start-ups at the international level and to explore cooperation in the building of a science park and a creative industry centre in the EEC;

 

(6) Human Resource Development – Both sides agreed to encourage leading private sectors, institutions and universities in Hong Kong SAR to invest and establish branches in the EEC to conduct R&D and assist in the upgrading of labour skills for new industries as well as explore the possibility of an agreement on work and travel or working holiday scheme for youths of both sides.

 

After the High-Level Joint Committee Meeting, the Deputy Prime Minister of the Kingdom of Thailand and the Chief Executive of Hong Kong Special Administrative Region (SAR) of the People’s Republic of China signed the Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) on Strengthening Economic Relations between Thailand and Hong Kong SAR, covering the above-mentioned areas of cooperation. They also witnessed the signing of five MoUs between public and private sectors from both sides, which would serve as frameworks of cooperation between the two sides.

 

In the afternoon of the same date, the Chief Executive of Hong Kong SAR paid a courtesy call on General Prayut Chan-o-cha, Prime Minister of Thailand. The Prime Minister of Thailand expressed encouragement to the Chief Executive of Hong Kong SAR and the Government of the Hong Kong SAR and reiterated the confidence that the Government of the Hong Kong SAR would be able to appropriately manage challenges and regain its role in the international arena. The Chief Executive of Hong Kong SAR expressed gratitude to the Thai side for the continued encouragement and for hosting the inaugural HLJC Meeting, which has helped to concretise cooperation between both sides. 

 

The official visit to Thailand by the Chief Executive of the Hong Kong SAR has elevated and opened new dimensions in the relations between Thailand and Hong Kong SAR. It has also served as a good example of concretising collaboration to connect Thailand’s development policy, particularly Thailand 4.0 and the EEC with the Guangdong-Hong Kong-Macao Greater Bay Area development plan (GBA) and the Belt and Road Initiative (BRI) of China for the mutual benefits of Thailand and Hong Kong SAR, the sub-region and the region as a whole.