Press Release - December 4, 2002

Hong Kong and Canada today (December 4) renewed the Memorandum of Understanding (MOU) for cooperation in information and communications technology (ICT) and signed a new MOU on biotechnology cooperation.

The MOUs were signed by the Permanent Secretary for Commerce, Industry and Technology (Information Technology and Broadcasting) of the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region Government, Mr Francis Ho, and Industry Canada's Assistant Deputy Minister for Spectrum, Information Technologies and Telecommunications, Dr Michael Binder, who led a Canadian delegation to visit Hong Kong and attend ITU Telecom Asia 2002.

Welcoming the signing of the two MOUs, the Director of Hong Kong Economic and Trade Office (Canada), Mrs Rosanna Ure, said she was very pleased with the enhanced co-operation between Hong Kong and Canada in the fields of information, communication technology and biotechnology.

�We are greatly encouraged by the goodwill and the true spirit of partnership displayed by the two governments and these MOUs will make greater co-operation between the two places possible,� she said.

The two MOUs followed a partnership sealed on September 9 in the margin of the Softworld 2002 Conference held in Charlottetown, Prince Edward Island, between the Information Technology Association of Canada (ITAC) and the Hong Kong Information Technology Federation (HKITF) to promote trade and business in IT between Canada and Hong Kong.

Speaking at the signing ceremony, Mr Francis Ho said that the two MOUs signified another major step forward for Hong Kong to collaborate with Canada for deriving mutual benefit in our development as a knowledge-based economy.

Canada and Hong Kong first signed the MOU on ICT in 1998. The MOU encouraged greater cooperation in areas of multimedia and software applications and products, electronic commerce infrastructure and policy, broadband networks and applications, and Internet applications, etc.

"Following the successful implementation of the ICT MOU signed in 1998, both sides stand ready to renew it so that we can continue to develop collaborations under a closer bilateral relationship to benefit the ICT industries of both Canada and Hong Kong," Mr Ho said.

The MOU on biotechnology will encourage biotechnology firms and researchers of the two areas to explore expanded research and development opportunities, cooperation in investment, commercial biotechnology ventures, and the expansion of domestic and international markets for products, services and technology developed in Hong Kong and Canada.

Noting that biotechnology would play an important role in Hong Kong, Mr Ho emphasised that the Government was fully committed to providing a favourable environment conducive to technology research, including biotechnology development.

"The signing of the new MOU on biotechnology co-operation will further drive and stimulate our alliance in the biotechnology front. I am confident that both the ICT and biotechnology industries as well as the academic and professional sectors in both Canada and Hong Kong will ride on these co-operative frameworks to further explore co-operation with each other," Mr Ho said.

For more information, please contact:
John Tam, Chief Information Officer of Hong Kong Economic and Trade Office at: (416) 924-5544 or email: [email protected] or Elison Chu, Senior Information Officer, [email protected].

Permanent Secretary for Commerce, Industry and Technology (Information Technology and Broadcasting) of the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region Government, Mr Francis Ho (right), and Dr Michael Binder, Industry Canada's Assistant Deputy Minister for Spectrum, Information Technologies and Telecommunications, exchanging the Memorandum of Understanding (MOU) between Hong Kong and Canada for cooperation on information and communications technology and the MOU on biotechnology cooperation after the Signing Ceremony today (December 4).