It is my great privilege and pleasure to welcome you to the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region of the People’s Republic of China (“Hong Kong SAR”) to take part in this leading international conference on Investor-State Dispute Settlement (“ISDS”) reform, which is co-organised by my Department and the Asian Academy of International Law.

ISDS reform has attracted much discussion in the international community in recent years. The United Nations Commission on International Trade Law (“UNCITRAL”) has also entrusted its Working Group III to work on the possible ISDS reform, and the representatives of the Hong Kong SAR Government have been participating actively in the discussion of that Working Group as part of the Chinese delegation.

Graced by the presence of senior government officials, leading practitioners and world-renowned academics in the field of international investment and arbitration laws, this conference will surely provide a lot of thoughtful ideas and useful insights for the study of the Working Group III of UNCITRAL and help to map the way forward for ISDS reform.

The Hong Kong SAR, as Asia’s World City, prides itself in our mission to connect and excel. It has been the steadfast policy of the Government of the Hong Kong SAR to enhance our status as a leading centre for international legal and dispute resolution services in the Asia-Pacific region and beyond. We, as part of the Chinese delegation, will continue to participate actively in the Working Group III of UNCITRAL with a view to contributing to successful conclusion of its work on ISDS reform.

May I wish the conference every success and those of you coming to Hong Kong a fruitful and memorable stay!