During the beginning of the International Conference on the Equine Disease Free Zone (ICEDFZ), Hong Kong SAR and Chinese Mainland authorities signed four memoranda of understanding on Tuesday. The memoranda reinforced policies and procedures governing the operation of the biosecurity zone in the Conghua District of Guangzhou and related horse movement arrangements between the Hong Kong Jockey Club's new Conghua Training Centre and Hong Kong. This zone is the only internationallly-recognised EDFZ on mainland China, and the signing is another step toward opening the Conghua Training Centre in August of 2018. Horses will enjoy the same health status whether they are stabled on Hong Kong or on the mainland at the centre under the EDFZ. The ICEDFZ is jointly hosted by the HKJC and the Agriculture, Fisheries and Conservation Department (AFCD) of the Hong Kong SAR.
“This biosecurity zone in the Conghua District of Guangzhou, together with the accompanying horse movement arrangements, will enable the Club to continue enhancing its world-class racing and sustain its position as Hong Kong's single largest tax payer and one of the world's top 10 charity donors,” said Dr. Simon Ip, chairman of the Hong Kong Jockey Club. “None of this would have been possible without the strong and close bonds between Hong Kong and the motherland, which we are celebrating in this 20th anniversary year of the Hong Kong SAR. “In particular I would like to thank the Ministry of Agriculture; the General Administration of Quality Supervision, Inspection and Quarantine; the Guangdong Entry-Exit Inspection and Quarantine Bureau; the Department of Agriculture of Guangdong Province; as well as the Food and Health Bureau, and the Agriculture, Fisheries and Conservation Department of the Hong Kong SAR.”
“The Conghua project is another exemplary achievement of Hong Kong-Guangdong co-operation, which in due course, will take on a more ambitious vision through the Guangdong-Hong Kong-Macao Bay Area development,” said Mrs. Carrie Lam, Hong Kong SAR Chief Executive during the opening ceremony.
“The signing of the 'Memorandum of Understanding Concerning the Support of Guangzhou Racecourse as a Key Project in the Promotion of the Establishment of Greater Bay Area' today will see the launch of even more convenient measures to streamline entry procedures and ensure safety, including allowing multiple approvals of a single quarantine permit for horses travelling between Hong Kong and Guangzhou, the setting up of a back-up checkpoint and biosecurity channels,” said Mr. Li Yuanping, vice-minister of the general administration of quality supervision, inspection and quarantine, the People's Republic of China.
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