Hong Kong Chief Executive John Lee Ka-chiu began a busy round of meetings with Qatari officials in Doha on Sunday at the head of a delegation of more than 50 Hong Kong and Chinese mainland officials and entrepreneurs looking to explore business opportunities and attract investment.

In a social media post late on Saturday evening on arrival in the Qatari capital, Lee said he looks forward to creating new opportunities for Hong Kong enterprises, attracting Middle Eastern investment to the special administrative region and promoting the alignment of local industries, such as finance, with Middle Eastern markets.

The Hong Kong delegation is in Qatar on the first stop of a six-day visit that will also take in Kuwait. It is Lee’s second trip to the Middle East since taking office.

The chief executive said the SAR will sign multiple memoranda of understanding with Qatar and Kuwait, covering trade, aviation, research, legal services and education.

The delegation’s itinerary is packed with high-level engagements. It visited the Qatar Investment Authority on Sunday before meeting with the country’s leadership, including Emir Tamim bin Hamad Al Thani, and Prime Minister and Minister of Foreign Affairs Sheikh Mohammed bin Abdulrahman bin Jassim Al-Thani. The visitors also attended a luncheon hosted by Standard Chartered Qatar.

In a social media post that evening, Lee highlighted Hong Kong’s robust investment relationship with Qatar, noting that the country is the city’s third-largest trading partner in the Middle East. He said that negotiations on a bilateral investment promotion and protection agreement have been “substantially concluded”, with plans for an early signing at a mutually agreeable time.

Lee encouraged Qatari partners to leverage Hong Kong’s strengths as an international financial center and innovation hub to explore new investment and business opportunities. He also invited Qatari officials and business leaders to the 10th Belt and Road Summit, scheduled for Sept 10-11.

Additionally, the delegation visited Lusail City, Qatar’s second-largest urban center, to examine its integration of innovation and technology in urban planning and infrastructure development. Acknowledging Lusail’s ambition to become a model for intelligent living and cultural diversity, Lee proposed that Hong Kong’s world-class professional services could support Qatar’s investment needs and facilitate collaboration on sustainable urban development.

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The delegation, which includes Deputy Financial Secretary Michael Wong Wai-lun, and Commissioner for Belt and Road of the Commerce and Economic Development Bureau Nicholas Ho Lik-chi, was welcomed on arrival in Doha on Saturday evening by Ibrahim Yousif Abdullah Fakhro, director of Qatar’s Department of Protocol, and Chinese ambassador to Qatar, Cao Xiaolin.

Lee expressed enthusiasm for the trip, stating: “We have just arrived tonight and will begin work immediately tomorrow. We will have a brief meeting to prepare for the day ahead.”

He emphasized the goal of fostering business partnerships under the Belt and Road Initiative and the Guangdong-Hong Kong-Macao Greater Bay Area’s development plan.

Lee said the trip is also aimed at leveraging Hong Kong’s strengths under the “one country, two systems” principle, linking the mainland with the world and helping Chinese enterprises to go global.

“The Middle East holds immense potential, and we will continue to seize business opportunities for Hong Kong, contribute to our nation’s development, and create win-win prospects for the world,” he said.

The delegation will continue its Qatar itinerary today with meetings with local political and business figures. This evening, they will depart for Kuwait, returning to Hong Kong on Thursday.

The delegation includes over 30 leaders from Hong Kong’s business and professional sectors, alongside more than 20 mainland entrepreneurs from Zhejiang, Fujian and Guangdong provinces, as well as other regions — marking the first time mainland representatives have joined such a visit.

Spanning industries such as finance, commerce, trade, infrastructure, innovation and technology, and transportation logistics, the visit underscores Hong Kong’s dual role as a “superconnector” and “super value-adder” in global markets.

The Hong Kong Special Administrative Region government also emphasized that with strong backing from the central government, it is actively pursuing partnerships with high-potential markets, expanding its global network to foster collaboration.

In recent years, Middle Eastern nations have been actively pursuing economic diversification strategies to reduce their dependence on energy exports as the primary revenue source.

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This economic transformation, combined with the mainland’s stable development and Hong Kong’s position as a highly internationalized business hub, creates an ideal platform for Middle Eastern countries to diversify their investment portfolios.