'HK's legal talent boosts Belt and Road countries'
Lawmaker and barrister Priscilla Leung said on Friday that Hong Kong can play a crucial role in helping countries involved in the Belt and Road Initiative gain access to the international market, thanks to the SAR's abundant legal talent. The Business and Professionals Alliance lawmaker was speaking at a conference to mark the release of a model cross-border dispute resolution agreement. She said Hong Kong can provide professional legal services to countries participating in the Belt and Road Initiative. "Hong Kong has a significant number of legal professionals who are bilingual and have knowledge of both mainland and common law. Many Hong Kong lawyers have obtained licences to practise in the Greater Bay Area. I believe the legal sector in Hong Kong can work effectively with its counterparts on the mainland," she said.  "Many foreign investors are interested in working with legal professionals in Hong Kong when venturing into the mainland market. This collaboration gives them a sense of legal security and increases their confidence. It is a mutually beneficial relationship and promotes cooperation.  "Similarly, countries involved in the Belt and Road Initiative value Hong Kong's expertise in common law and seek to use it when entering the international market." Commenting on the cross-border dispute resolution agreement, Leung said it was developed by experts from the International Academy of the Belt and Road after years of discussion, in the hope of helping investors from countries with different cultures and systems. Speaking at the same event, Rajesh Sharma, a research fellow at the academy and a member of the drafting committee for the Belt and Road Dispute Resolution Rules, said there was a need to create a standardised framework that will be accessible to nations involved with the decade-old initiative. "There are 150 countries and all these countries have different legal systems and different cultures so we have to make it something uniform that anybody can use. That will help the businesses to have a predictable system and it's something that they can rely on and they will know what's going to happen," he said.  Kashif Imran Zaidi, acting director of the School of Law and Policy at Zhejiang University, said clear and consistent rules will contribute to the overall economic and social development of countries.  "It will facilitate the countries to have rules and regulations for future development," he said.