The governments of China's Hong Kong Special Administrative Region and Canada on Thursday renewed their memorandum of understanding (MoU) to enhance cooperation in telecom technologies.

The MoU was signed by Francis Ho, Hong Kong's Permanent Secretary for Commerce Industry and Technology, and Veena Rawat, president of Communication Research Center of the Department of Industry of Canada on the sidelines of ongoing Telecom World 2006 show.

Ho said at the signing ceremony that the renewal of the MoU signified the strong connections in the sector of information and communication technologies (ICT) between the two sides.

He said that Hong Kong has been fostering ties in ICT cooperation with other countries in the form of MoU in recent years.

"Canada is our first ICT MoU partner since 1998, and this is the second time we have extended the term," said the Hong Kong official.

"Under the MoUs, we are aiming to create synergy and establish mutually beneficial relationship among relevant government agencies and industry organizations to enhance the ICT development in the respective economies," he said.

Many exchange and cooperative activities were conducted under the auspices of the Hong Kong/Canada ICT MoU. The major forms of cooperation include mutual visit, exchange forum, trade facilitation, business partnership and student exchange program.

"I am confident that the synergy generated from such exchanges and cooperation will enable us to compete more successfully in today's global arena," Ho noted.

Hong Kong and Canada first signed the MoU on ICT in 1998, which was first renewed in 2002. The MoU was renewed Thursday for a another five-year term until 2012.

Under the renewed MoU, the two sides will seek cooperation in areas covering software applications, information and communications infrastructure and related policies.

Source: Xinhua