Speech by Ms Eva Cheng, Acting Secretary for Information Technology and Broadcasting at the Signing Ceremony of the Hong Kong-Israel Agreement on Co-operation in Information Technology and Communications

7 March 2000

Minister Cohen, ladies and gentlemen,

Let me first extend a warm welcome to Minister Cohen and Members of the Israeli Delegation. I am pleased to be here today to sign the Agreement on Co-operation in Information Technology and Communications between the Government of the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region of the People's Republic of China and the Government of the State of Israel.

The signing of the Agreement represents a concrete step forward in the closer co-operation between Hong Kong and Israel in information technology and communications. Our collaboration is founded on our shared beliefs : that information and telecommunications technology advancement will create enormous business opportunities and challenges, and that co-operation with like-minded partners is key to success in a globally connected world, not just between businesses, but between governments.

Our Chief Executive's visit to Israel in January last year paved way for a much closer working relationship between Hong Kong and Israel, particularly in the field of information technology and communications. Deliberations have borne fruit, as witnessed by the Agreement we are going to sign today.

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 area of information technology and communications. With these in mind, we have identified in the Agreement a wide range of areas for co-operation including facilitation of business and investment partnerships, exchange of policy and regulatory information, and joint research. The two governments will also enhance their communication in relation to funding support for IT project initiated by the private sector which are beneficial to the development of IT in both Hong Kong and Israel.

Apart from the Agreement with Israel, the Government of the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region has also entered into similar arrangement in the form of Memorandum of Understanding on IT co-operation with five other countries, namely Canada, Australia, the United Kingdom, Finland and India. Under these MOUs, we and our partners have organised a number of activities which proved to be mutually beneficial and enriching. I am sure that our collaboration with Israel under the Agreement on IT and communications will yield equally fruitful results and benefit both places.

Thank you.

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