Chief Executive John Lee today led a Hong Kong Special Administrative Region delegation to Jakarta, Indonesia, for talks on strengthening connections with Indonesia and Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) member states.

During a meeting with Indonesian President Joko Widodo this morning, Mr Lee said Hong Kong and Indonesia have always maintained close bilateral trade and investment relations, with Hong Kong being a top-three source of foreign investment of Indonesia.

He also thanked Indonesia for supporting Hong Kong's accession request to the Regional Comprehensive Economic Partnership (RCEP) and expressed hope that both places could strengthen co-operation in various aspects such as trade, investment, finance, innovation and technology as well as culture and tourism.

Mr Lee then attended a luncheon hosted by Charge d'Affaires ad Interim and Chinese Embassy in Indonesia Minister Zhou Kan.

He thanked the embassy for supporting the Hong Kong SAR Government's work, adding that he hoped to strengthen high-level connections with the Indonesian Government and promote Hong Kong's advantages and latest developments to the local business community through this visit.

In the afternoon, the Chief Executive met Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) Secretary-General Kao Kim Hourn, where he highlighted that Hong Kong attaches great importance to its close trade and economic ties with ASEAN, noting that it has long been Hong Kong's second-largest trading partner, with total merchandise trade between Hong Kong and ASEAN reaching an all-time high of US$165 billion last year.

With the full entry into force of the Free Trade Agreement and the related Investment Agreement between Hong Kong and ASEAN in 2021, the trade and economic ties between Hong Kong and ASEAN have been elevated to a higher level. 

Mr Lee also thanked ASEAN member states for supporting Hong Kong's accession to RCEP, adding that he looked forward to maintaining communication with the ASEAN Secretariat on relevant issues.

He will continue his visit programme in Jakarta tomorrow.