HONG KONG -- John Lee, chief executive of the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region (HKSAR), said his visit to the Middle East has yielded fruitful results.

Lee wrote in an article published on Monday in the Hong Kong newspaper Ta Kung Pao that his visit, which concluded on Friday, is a journey of friendship, and also a journey to promote Hong Kong's advantages and to explore opportunities.

He noted that 13 memorandums or letters of intent were exchanged between Hong Kong and enterprises and organizations in Saudi Arabia and the United Arab Emirates (UAE), covering areas such as finance, innovation and technology, commerce, construction professions, transport and energy.

The HKSAR government and the Saudi Arabian government have agreed to start formal negotiations on investment promotion and protection agreements. Meanwhile, the financial hub has also agreed with the UAE to initiate discussions on the signing of a memorandum of understanding on green and sustainable finance, Lee said.

He said that Hong Kong will continue to deepen and follow up on the achievements and progress made in this Middle East trip. The Hong Kong Monetary Authority will organize a high-level financial delegation to the Middle East in the first half of this year to further expand business opportunities.

The Dubai Chambers has decided to set up a new office in Hong Kong, while the Hong Kong Economic and Trade Office in Dubai of the HKSAR government will deepen, broaden and promote the good relations that are already established, and further expand and consolidate the network of contacts, Lee said in the article.

Lee said that the aim of choosing the Middle East as the destination of his first overseas visit this year was to showcase Hong Kong's active participation in the Belt and Road Initiative and to promote win-win collaborations and people-to-people bonds.

Lee stressed that deep cooperation between Hong Kong and Saudi Arabia and the UAE will create unlimited value for Hong Kong's high-quality development.