The delegation comprises legal and dispute resolution professionals including representatives from the Hong Kong Bar Association, the Law Society of Hong Kong, the Hong Kong International Arbitration Centre, the Secretariat of the International Court of Arbitration of the International Chamber of Commerce (Asia Office), the China International Economic and Trade Arbitration Commission Hong Kong Arbitration Center, the China Maritime and Arbitration Commission Hong Kong Arbitration Center, the Chartered Institutes of Arbitrators (East Asia Branch) and the Hong Kong Institute of Arbitrators.
Mr Yuen began the visit by addressing the opening ceremony of "In Style．Hong Kong" organised by the Hong Kong Trade Development Council.
"Hong Kong's strengths, including our unique position as the gateway to Mainland China, our rule of law, judicial independence, clean and efficient government, business-friendly environment and world-class infrastructure, are well recognised by the international community.
"So is the 'one country, two systems' policy enshrined in our constitutional document known as the Basic Law, which gives us the advantage of blooming as Asia's world city while achieving economic integration with the Mainland," Mr Yuen said.
In the afternoon, Mr Yuen gave opening remarks at the thematic session on "Legal Risk Management: Key to International Trade and Investment", which is part of the "In Style．Hong Kong" symposium.
Citing judicial independence, a robust legal system and world-class arbitral institutions, Mr Yuen said Hong Kong was highly regarded by the international community as an important arbitration hub.
In the latest 2015 International Arbitration Survey conducted by London's Queen Mary University, Hong Kong came third globally as the preferred seat of arbitration, just after London and Paris.
Mr Yuen also launched "Hong Kong Live in Bangkok" presented by the Hong Kong Tourism Board to promote Hong Kong tourism experiences.
"In the context of tourism, Thailand is definitely a very popular destination for Hong Kong people. Needless to say, we extend our warmest welcome to Thai visitors. In 2015, we received 529,400 visitors from Thailand. In the first seven months of this year, we saw an encouraging growth of more than 25 per cent in visitor arrivals from Thailand," he said at the launch ceremony.
Mr Yuen took the opportunity to pay a courtesy call on the Chinese Ambassador to Thailand, Mr Ning Fukui.
He ended the day by officiating at the "In Style．Hong Kong" Gala Dinner, which was attended by some 450 guests and featured a fashion parade spotlighting the latest collections of a number of acclaimed Hong Kong designers.
Mr Yuen and representatives of Hong Kong's legal and dispute resolution delegation will meet with relevant Thai officials to exchange views on matters of mutual interest tomorrow (October 7) before concluding the visit and returning to Hong Kong in the evening.
Ends/Thursday, Oct 06, 2016
