Hong Kong, September 11 (QNA) - The State of Qatar participated in the 11th Belt and Road Summit, hosted by the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region under the theme "Advancing High-Quality Development: Embarking on a New Journey."

The State of Qatar was represented at the summit by HE Minister of State for Foreign Trade at the Ministry of Commerce and Industry Dr. Ahmed bin Mohammed Al Sayed.

The summit was opened by HE Chief Executive of the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region John Lee in the presence of a number of senior officials and heads and representatives of regional and international organizations.

In his speech during a policy dialogue session held as part of the summit, HE Minister Al Sayed stressed that the summit represents an important platform for strengthening dialogue, expanding the horizons of cooperation, and building economic partnerships capable of keeping pace with the rapid transformations taking place around the world.

Regarding the economic and trade relations between Qatar and Hong Kong, His Excellency stressed the importance of developing bilateral cooperation, given Hong Kong's position as a global hub for trade, investment, financial services and logistics, as well as the opportunities it provides to strengthen Qatar's links with Asian markets.

He noted that the volume of trade between Qatar and Hong Kong amounted to approximately $1.7 billion over the past four years. He also pointed out that many Hong Kong companies are operating in the Qatari market, reflecting the opportunities available to take these relations to broader levels.

He highlighted the importance of expanding areas of trade cooperation through organizing trade exhibitions and markets and participating in them on a reciprocal basis. Such efforts, he said, would help promote national goods and products and open new prospects for their access to Asian markets.

The Minister invited Hong Kong companies to benefit from the competitive economic and investment environment offered by Qatar, as well as the services and advantages provided by its free zones, in order to establish high-quality partnerships across various sectors that serve the Qatari market and provide a platform for accessing new markets in the region.

On the sidelines of the summit, HE Al Sayed held bilateral meetings with a number of ministers and officials participating in the summit.

His Excellency met with HE Chief Executive of the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region John Lee; HE Secretary for Commerce and Economic Development of Hong Kong Algernon Yau; HE Financial Secretary of Hong Kong Paul Chan; HE Federal Minister for Commerce of the Islamic Republic of Pakistan Jam Kamal Khan; HE Minister of Commerce, Industry, Textiles and Jute of the People's Republic of Bangladesh Khandker Abdul Muktadir; HE Minister of Trade, Commerce, Food Security and Cooperative Development of Sri Lanka Wasantha Samarasinghe; and HE Vice Minister of Commerce of Thailand Dr Kirida Bhaopichitr.

The meetings reviewed opportunities for joint cooperation in various fields and ways to strengthen economic, trade and investment partnerships. (QNA)