Speech at the lunch in honour of the Baden-Württemberg delegation

Opening Remarks by Mr Raymond H C Wong, JP

Permanent Secretary for Education of the HKSAR

at the lunch in honour of the Baden-Württemberg delegation

on Friday, 19 September 2008

Good Afternoon.

Minister Frankenberg, thank you for bringing this delegation of esteemed academics all the way to Hong Kong .  It is my pleasure to co-host this lunch with the Heads of the Universities Committee of Hong Kong in honour of your delegation.

Earlier this morning Secretary Suen has talked about our vision for further collaboration on research.  In this regard, I would like to once again pay tribute to our academics and tertiary institutions as, in the case of Hong Kong , it is them who take the front seat in driving various new initiatives that involve collaboration with overseas institutions. Whilst the Government stands ready to provide the necessary support, we appreciate and respect the importance of upholding academic freedom and institutional autonomy.  We are thus most delighted to see our tertiary institutions playing an active and highly successful role in drawing up and entering into a multitude of collaborative arrangements with their counterparts from different parts of the world, as is exemplified by the activity today.

I am especially excited to learn that the discussion this morning has been fruitful and five MOUs among the participating institutions have been signed.  This opens a new chapter in our bilateral academic exchange.  No doubt today’s conference will mark the beginning of a productive, long-term relationship between Baden-Württemberg and Hong Kong that will grow stronger and stronger in the years to come.

Without further ado, let us enjoy our lunch.  Bon Appetite.