Hong Kong, Israel seal agreement on IT co-operation

March 7, 2000

Information and telecommunications technology advancement will create enormous business opportunities and challenges. And co-operation with like-minded partners is key to success in a globally connected world, not just between businesses, but between governments.

This was stated by the Acting Secretary for Information Technology and Broadcasting, Ms Eva Cheng, at the signing ceremony of the Agreement on Co-operation in Information Technology and Communications between Hong Kong and Israel today (Tuesday).

At the signing ceremony, Ms Cheng represented the Government of the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region, and Mr Ran Cohen, Minister of Industry and Trade, represented the Government of the State of Israel.

Ms Cheng noted that the visit to Israel by the Chief Executive in January last year had paved way for a much closer working relationship between Hong Kong and Israel, particularly in the field of technology and communications.

"Deliberations have borne fruit, as witnessed by the Agreement we are going to sign today," she said.

"We believe that Hong Kong and Israel will benefit from the common strengths of both places, that is, we are both a technology-oriented government, a strong proponent of application of IT, and perhaps more importantly, we both represent huge business opportunities in the information technology and communications fields.

"We have identified in the Agreement a wide range of areas for co-operation including business and investment partnership, exchange of policy and regulatory information, and joint research. We will also enhance our communication in relation to funding support for IT projects initiated by the private sector which are beneficial to the development of IT in both Hong Kong and Israel," Ms Cheng added.

The Hong Kong SAR Government has since May 1998 signed MOUs on IT co-operation with five other countries, namely Canada, Australia, the United Kingdom, Finland and India. Under these MOUs, Hong Kong and its partners have organized a number of activities which prove to be mutually beneficial and enriching.

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