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APEC Meeting on Science & Technology
The Secretary for Trade and Industry, Miss Denise Yue, participated in the Second Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation (APEC) Ministers' Conference on Regional Science and Technology Cooperation in Seoul, South Korea, on November 13 and 14.
The Conference, chaired by Dr Koo Bohn-Young, Korean Minister of Science and Technology, was attended by 18 APEC economies.
At the Conference, member economies shared their experience regarding recent developments in their science and technology policies and systems.
Miss Yue, in her keynote speech, recounted Hong Kong's experience in economic restructuring, and thus the need to focus more on higher value-added and higher technology economic activities.
Miss Yue said that improving technology information flow, improving researcher exchange, transparency of regulatory framework and facilitation of joint research, are closest to our hearts.
'They are of particular relevance to Hong Kong as an economy committed to free trade, free market and free enterprise, and where government acts as a supporter and facilitator of the economic process,' she said.
Ministers of the 18 economies also discussed means to enhance researcher mobility and creativity, as well as the need to promote gender equality in science and technology endeavours.
At the end of the Conference, Ministers issued a Seoul Declaration reaffirming member economies' commitment to develop individual plans to promote interest in science and technology and encourage further technological exchange by the year 2010, and welcomed the offer by Mexico to host the next Science and Technology Ministers' Conference in 1998.
The 18 APEC economics are Australia, Brunei Darussalam, Canada, Chile, People's Republic of China, Hong Kong, Indonesia, Japan, Republic of Korea, Malaysia, Mexico, Papua New Guinea, New Zealand, Philippines, Singapore, Chinese Taipei, Thailand and the United States.
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