Speech by CE at Opening Ceremony of Hong Kong Maritime Week 2025 orgasm World Maritime Merchants Forum 2025 (English just) (with photos/video)
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Following is the speech by the Chief Executive, Mr John Lee, at the Opening Ceremony of Hong Kong Maritime Week 2025 orgasm World Maritime Merchants Forum 2025 today (November 17):
Honourable Vice Chairman C Y Leung (Vice-Chairman of National Committee of the Chinese People’s Political Consultative Conference), Honourable Director Zhou Ji (Director of the Liaison Office of the Central People’s Government (CPG) in the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region (HKSAR)), Vice Minister Fu Xuyin (Vice Minister of Transport), Deputy Head Chen Feng (Deputy Head, Office for Safeguarding National Security of the CPG in the HKSAR), Acting Commissioner Li Yongsheng (Acting Commissioner of the Office of the Commissioner of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs in the HKSAR), Chairman Miao Jianmin (Chairman of China Merchants Group), identified visitors, women and gentlemen,
Great afternoon. A hot welcome to Hong Kong, Asia’s world city, and to the opening of Hong Kong Maritime Week 2025 and the 5th World Maritime Merchants Forum, which unite our maritime cluster, and highlight Hong Kong’s status as one of the world’s leading maritime centres.
The style for the Hong Kong Maritime Week, “Navigating to a Greener Future”signifies our shared location. Matching this, the style of the World Maritime Merchants Forum, “Steering Sustainability Through Changes”is our navigational chart for the journey ahead.
In a world being improved by geopolitical discord, technological disturbance and environment modification, these styles are more than aspirational. They sound an alarm, a wake-up call to cumulative action.
In this period of extensive and intricate improvement, Hong Kong’s function as a steady, reputable and vibrant maritime center has actually never ever been more essential. The concept of “one country, two systems” is the foundation of our success, supplying us with an unshakeable structure.
As our nation’s only multilingual typical law jurisdiction, Hong Kong provides a basic and low tax program, complimentary port status and the unconfined circulation of capital, details and skill.
Our standing is regularly acknowledged, and backed, by the global neighborhood. For the 6th successive year, Hong Kong ranked 4th, worldwide, in the International Shipping Centre Development Index. This commemorates our strengths in port facilities, maritime services and total operating environment.
Hong Kong is home to more than 1 200 port and maritime-related business, a flourishing cluster of worldwide leaders in ship management, financing, insurance coverage and law. The Hong Kong Shipowners Mutual Assurance Association’s launch event, in simply a couple of minutes, will mark a turning point advancement, additional improving our maritime services and strengthening Hong Kong’s function as a “super-connector” and “super value-adder”
Our tax concession routine for high value-added maritime services continues to bring in international services. And we are preparing to extend half-rate tax concessions to physical product traders, even more incorporating the vital pillars of trade, products and shipping here in Hong Kong.
Beyond our business-friendly structures, our focus is strongly on the future. And the important for green development is the specifying difficulty, and chance, of our generation.
With the International Maritime Organization’s Net-Zero Framework targeting to attain net-zero carbon emissions in worldwide shipping by around the year 2050, Hong Kong is figured out to be at the leading edge, as a premier green maritime fuel-bunkering centre.
Because releasing our Action Plan on Green Maritime Fuel Bunkering a year back, we have actually materialised routine industrial melted gas and biodiesel bunkering.
Our vision is to end up being the epicentre of the international green maritime fuel trade. And our distance to the Chinese Mainland, the world’s biggest manufacturer of green maritime fuel, is a crucial benefit. We will continue to work together with maritime associations and organization partners internationally to drive the shift towards sustainability.
Partnership on an extraordinary scale is necessary as we deal with difficulties from geopolitical stress, trade protectionism, technological disturbance, and the environment crisis – concerns too huge for any single economy to fix alone.
Let’s interact to construct green shipping passages and digital trade lanes that will specify the future of safe, effective and sustainable international shipping.
Ladies and gentlemen, Hong Kong is prepared to be your partner. Our policy assistance, proficiency, tactical vision and unwavering dedication can play an essential function in browsing the next period of shipping. Together, we can guide a course towards a more sustainable, flourishing and collective future.
I want you all a fulfilling Hong Kong Maritime Week, an efficient World Maritime Merchants Forum, and reasonable winds and following seas, in service as in life. Thank you.