Singapore senior officials in town to see Hong Kong’s current, incoming and past leaders; experts say meetings are important amid complex geopolitical climate & More News Here

Lam mentioned Hong Kong and Singapore had lengthy loved sturdy bilateral ties, which have been additional strengthened by commerce agreements such because the Free Trade Agreement and the Investment Agreement between Hong Kong and the Association of Southeast Asian Nations that got here into full impact final yr.

“With Hong Kong aspiring to join and contribute to the Regional Comprehensive Economic Partnership [RCEP], I look forward to Singapore’s continued support,” mentioned Lam, whose time period will finish on June 30.

Hong Kong utilized to be a part of the RCEP in January, signing up to be part of the world’s largest free-trade settlement comprising 30 per cent of worldwide gross home product.

Lam added that Hong Kong’s participation would assist additional consolidate the regional provide chain by the supply of extra entry and decisions of high-quality providers to enterprises, thereby stimulating financial actions in the area.

In an op-ed piece written by Teo on Monday, he mentioned the 2 cities confronted comparable challenges, together with ageing populations, inexpensive housing, schooling, climate change and city improvement.

“Our cities are often compared with each other, which is to be expected. We have healthy competition, which spurs us on to do even better; yet, there is also much to learn from each other,” he wrote.

Amid a wholesome rivalry, Teo mentioned there was additionally a lot to be taught from one another, with many alternatives for regional cooperation together with in the Greater Bay Area.

“Chief executive-elect [Lee] has a clear mandate to lead Hong Kong into the next chapter of its development. We look forward to working with him to continue strengthening bilateral cooperation, building on the progress both sides have achieved under Lam and her predecessors,” he wrote.

The two officials additionally met former chief government Leung Chun-ying on Monday afternoon.

Lau Siu-kai, vice-president of semi-official suppose tank the Chinese Association of Hong Kong and Macau Studies, mentioned underneath Hong Kong’s new political ambiance in which solely “patriots” rule, Singapore would love to be higher knowledgeable on town’s newest modifications.

“Singapore would rely on Hong Kong to build a better connection with the mainland, while Hong Kong also needed more cooperation with Singapore when we were repeatedly attacked by the West, while we would like to have more opportunities in the region,” he mentioned.

Dylan Loh, an assistant professor in international coverage at Singapore’s Nanyang Technological University, steered that the go to by senior Singaporean ministers to Hong Kong was important for the incoming administration to familiarise itself with town state and for Singapore to higher perceive Hong Kong’s priorities.

Loh identified that the ability transition in Hong Kong adopted an analogous improvement in Singapore, with finance minister Lawrence Wong in April picked because the presumptive subsequent prime minister.

“Moreover, after the turbulence of the [now-withdrawn] anti-extradition [bill] protests, with things having more political stability, it is an opportune time to revisit the relationship,” he mentioned, referring to the 2019 social unrest in Hong Kong.

Additional reporting by Dewey Sim in Singapore