Message from Commissioner

for the Development of the Guangdong-Hong Kong-Macao Greater Bay Area

"Telling good stories of the Greater Bay Area" is one of the key tasks of the Guangdong-Hong Kong-Macao Greater Bay Area Development Office (the Office). Through duty visits as well as promotional activities in the Mainland and overseas, the Office has been actively reaching out to global talents and enterprises, so as to promote the enormous opportunities brought about by the development of the Guangdong-Hong Kong-Macao Greater Bay Area (Greater Bay Area), and encourage them to tap the huge markets of the Greater Bay Area and the Mainland by leveraging Hong Kong's advantages of having strong support from the motherland and close connection with the world under "One Country, Two Systems".

In late August, I paid a four-day visit to Korea, meeting with local government officials and visiting a number of enterprises specialising in advanced manufacturing, life and health technology, and artificial intelligence. I also exchanged views with representatives from Korea's leading venture funds, international trade organisation and the Korea Culture and Tourism Institute. At the reception and the talent exchange luncheon organised by the Hong Kong Economic and Trade Office (Tokyo), I addressed over 300 guests, including leaders in the innovation and technology sector, entrepreneurs, representatives from chambers of commerce, investors, and representatives from higher education institutions and government departments, with a view to promoting the unlimited business opportunities and development potentials of the Greater Bay Area, as well as Hong Kong's distinctive advantages as a core city of the Greater Bay Area, and our policies and measures on attracting global talents.

Through our face-to-face interactions, this duty visit to Korea has enhanced the interest and understanding of local enterprises and talents' interests in Greater Bay Area development, and deepened their understanding of Hong Kong's roles as a "super connector" and a "super value-adder" between the Mainland and the rest of the world, thereby enabling them to better capitalise on the significant opportunities brought about by Greater Bay Area development through Hong Kong.

In addition, a number of major facilitation measures have been introduced this year to promote cross-boundary people flow in the Greater Bay Area. For instance, starting from July, non-Chinese Hong Kong permanent residents can apply for the Mainland Travel Permit for Hong Kong and Macao Residents (Non-Chinese Citizens), which enhances convenience of clearance at control points of the Mainland, and thus facilitates their visit to the Mainland for business, travelling, visiting relatives, etc. In this issue of the Newsletter, we also interviewed a Kowloon City District Council member, Dr Rizwan Ullah, who is of Pakistani descent. He told us that the new measure has received an overwhelming response from the local ethnic minorities. According to Dr Ullah, the new travel permit is of particular significance to those who need to travel to and from the Mainland frequently, as it not only brings them a more convenient clearance experience, but at the same time enables them to better seize the historic opportunities offered by the country's rapid development and to have greater involvement in Greater Bay Area development.