I would first like to extend to you all a very warm welcome to Hong Kong.

The Hong Kong Government is very pleased that you have honoured our Public Records Office by inviting it to host this workshop; and we are also very pleased that such an impressive gathering of distinguished members of the archivist profession in the East Asian region has come together to share and exchange their expertise and experience. In its short history of just three and a half years, EASTICA has succeeded in establishing close links among the various archives administrations in the East Asian region. I hope and believe that this workshop, and the others that will take place in the future, will further, will further consolidate the goal of better regional co-operation towards which we are all working.

As you know, the theme of this week's workshop is archival description. I would in particular like to welcome Dr. Hugo Stibbe of the National Archives of Canada, and Mrs. Guo of the State Archives Bureau of China, who have very kindly taken the time and trouble to join us here as resource speakers. Dr. Stibbe and Mrs. Guo bring with them a wealth of experience to bear on the subject of archival description, and I have no doubt that we will all be able to learn from their expertise. I hope also that, by working hand in hand in the true spirit of co-operation, we will be able to chart our way forward towards our common goal of developing a universal archival language that not only enables the archives administrations around the world to communicate better among themselves, but also helps us to provide a better service for those in our respective communities who make use of our archives.

Ladies and gentlemen, I hope you have an interesting and informative workshop, and also that you have the opportunity to see something of the rest of Hong Kong while you are here. I would now like to hand over to Chairman Wang Gang to declare the workshop open.