In the wake of Chief Executive John Lee Ka-chiu’s successful visits to Qatar and Kuwait, Hong Kong’s efforts to deepen connections with emerging markets are gaining strong momentum. The signing of 59 memorandums of understanding and agreements has laid the groundwork for advancing the city’s economic and cultural links with the Middle East.
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The visit underscores Hong Kong’s strategic role as a gateway connecting the Chinese mainland and the world and reflects the city’s strategy to diversify global economic partnerships amid a rapidly evolving landscape.
In today’s interconnected world, a single disruption can trigger sweeping impacts and unprecedented volatility. With this volatility comes growing uncertainty. The dismantling of the post-Cold-War consensus on globalisation has given way to fragmented markets and arbitrary trade practices, compounding the complexity of deeply intertwined international relationships.
This complexity, coupled with rapid technological breakthroughs, has created a climate of ambiguity in which a new global consensus has yet to emerge and the long-term implications of technological change remain unclear.
In this evolving landscape that can be defined by the VUCA concept – which focuses on navigating environments characterised by volatility, uncertainty, complexity and ambiguity – Hong Kong’s relevance is not diminished but amplified.
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To meet the challenges, the city must harness its enduring strengths while expanding global engagement and solidifying its position as a gateway to the mainland, a platform for global capital and an innovation hub.
