SITB ends three-day visit to Helsinki

September 3, 1999

The Secretary for Information Technology and Broadcasting, Mr K C Kwong, visited Helsinki from 1 to 3 September at the invitation of the Finnish Minister of Transport and Communications, Mr Olli-Pekka Heinonen.

At the meeting and lunch hosted by Mr Heinonen at the House of Estates, the Neo-Renaissance venue where the Finnish government receives its official guests, Mr Kwong outlined to the Minister the vision and initiatives of how to turn Hong Kong into a leading digital city in the globally-connected world. They also exchanged views on the latest development in both the IT and broadcasting fields.

The Secretary invited Minister Heinonen to visit Hong Kong early next year to look at some of Hong Kong's key IT projects, including our Cyberport. Also, he expressed his hope to sign a Memorandum of Understanding with the Finnish government to promote bilateral co-operation in the IT and telecommunication fields. Finland has been a pioneer in the development of information and telecommunication technologies and Helsinki has recently been named as one of the top three IT cities in the world.

Speaking to a group of Finnish officials and IT businessmen at the beginning of the visit, Mr Kwong said, "Hong Kong's strengths lie in our excellent telecommunication infrastructure, our business friendly and supportive market environment, our bilingual capability and our unique relationship with the Mainland of China.

"We are determined to enhance and promote Hong Kong's information infrastructure and services and to develop closer ties with leading IT economies around the world, particularly in the area of electronic commerce, multi-media and internet applications, just to name a few.

"There are lots of opportunities for investment and joint-development of products and services in Hong Kong for Finnish businessmen," he said.

Mr Kwong also took the opportunity to visit a number of top research facilities and leading IT companies in Finland to encourage more bilateral exchanges and collaboration between tertiary institutions as well as businesses.

The Secretary continues his European tour in London.

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