John Lee to lead Hong Kong, mainland delegation to Qatar, Kuwait on Saturday

Hong Kong’s chief executive has said he will lead a delegation that for the first time includes representatives from both the city and mainland China on a visit to Qatar and Kuwait on Saturday, with the aim of driving more business and people-to-people ties with the Middle East.

John Lee Ka-chiu also said on Tuesday that the coming trip – his second official visit to the Middle East following his 2023 one to Riyadh in Saudi Arabia and Abu Dhabi in the United Arab Emirates – would explore new development opportunities in finance, trade and technology.

“This visit will break new ground as the delegation includes not only Hong Kong government representatives, but also the city’s business representatives and mainland Chinese enterprise delegates,” Lee said ahead of a meeting of the city’s top decision-making Executive Council.

Lee said the delegation would include over 30 Hong Kong business leaders from trade and professional services and more than 20 entrepreneurs from the mainland provinces of Zhejiang, Fujian and Guangdong.

The mainland representatives are from various sectors, including innovation and technology, new energy, finance, trade and logistics.

Lee said he would hold talks with local officials to enable the delegation to be kept informed of the cooperative policy direction between Hong Kong and the governments of both Gulf countries, while promoting more people-to-people exchanges.