Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Thursday hoped for better trade and investment between India and Hong Kong when the Chinese special administrative region's (SAR) Chief Executive C.Y. Leung called on him.
"The prime minister welcomed C.Y. Leung on his first official visit to India and expressed hope that his visit will lead to increased trade, investment and tourism links between India and Hong Kong," the Prime Minister's Office said in a statement.
Leung briefed Modi about the strong interest among Hong Kong-based companies in India.
"The prime minister and C.Y. Leung agreed to strengthen bilateral economic cooperation, especially in the financial services sector, as well as cooperation in the field of education," the statement added.
Briefing the media here later, external affairs ministry spokesman Vikas Swarup said that Leung visited Mumbai on February 2 and 3 at the invitation of Maharashtra Chief Minister Devendra Fadnavis and arrived in New Delhi on Thursday.
Besides the prime minister, Leung also called on Finance Minister Arun Jaitley and External Affairs Minister Sushma Swaraj.
On the first official visit of a chief executive of Hong Kong to India, Leung is being accompanied by a high-level multi-sectoral business delegation of 40 leading companies.
"There were substantive business and economic interactions in Mumbai and in Delhi, including those facilitated by Ficci, CII and Hong Kong Trade Development Council," Swarup said.
"In Mumbai, the chief executive also visited the Bharat Diamond Bourse, the Bombay Stock Exchange, and the Capital which is a joint infrastructure project HKSAR companies in Mumbai," he said, adding that in Delhi, Leung visited the Indian Institute of Technology.
Trade between India and Hong Kong reached $24.4 billion in 2014.
"The visit has provided Hong Kong companies an opportunity to actively explore partnerships in sectors such as infrastructure and transport, financial services, logistics, gems and jewellery, research and innovation, under initiatives such as Make in India, Startup India, and Smart Cities," the external affairs ministry spokesman said.
"Hong Kong would be setting up a round table for business leaders from both sides," he added.
