Hong Kong to explore easing visitor rules with 3 Asean countries, city leader John Lee says
- Lee says ‘fruitful’ six-day trip to Laos, Cambodia and Vietnam resulted in 55 cooperation agreements and promoted people-to-people exchanges
Three Asean countries and Hong Kong have agreed to consider easing visitor entry requirements in both directions, Chief Executive John Lee Ka-chiu has said as he concluded a visit to Laos, Cambodia and Vietnam, adding the city might set up new economic trade offices in the region.
The city leader said his “fruitful” six-day trip, which included more than 30 events and ended in Vietnam’s Ho Chi Minh City on Friday, not only resulted in 55 cooperation agreements but also promoted people-to-people exchanges.
“The governments of the three countries and I have agreed that we need to work harder to increase people-to-people exchanges and facilitate entry,” Lee said before returning to Hong Kong.
He noted that frequent visitors from Vietnam were now eligible for a multi-entry visa to enter Hong Kong, but did not elaborate on whether and when a further relaxation would be introduced.
“In addition to increasing [flight] capacity, we will also provide convenience for tourists’ entry as much as possible. We will all look into how to make progress in this aspect.”
Lee also said the government was considering adding new economic and trade offices in the Association of Southeast Asian Nations region aside for one planned for Kuala Lumpur, although he stopped short of revealing whether the three countries he visited this week were on the radar.
