Hong Kong leader John Lee Ka-chiu held talks with Kazakhstan’s president on Monday at the start of his visit to Central Asia, highlighting the city’s role as a “superconnector” bridging businesses with global markets, as his delegation sealed wide-ranging partnership deals.

Lee began his five-day trip on Monday by discussing ways to deepen economic cooperation and strengthen bilateral ties with Kazakhstan, meeting President Kassym-Jomart Tokayev as well as Serik Zhumangarin, the deputy prime minister and national economy minister, separately.

The chief executive urged the Kazakh government and businesses to take advantage of Hong Kong’s status as a financial hub – through listing, issuing bonds and conducting project financing – to connect with global investors and raise international funds for local development projects.

“He [encouraged] enterprises in Kazakhstan to make use of Hong Kong’s professional services and business advantages to explore the markets of the Chinese mainland and Asia, while enabling Hong Kong and mainland enterprises to go global as they seize development opportunities arising from Kazakhstan’s economic reforms and set up business operations in Central Asia,” a government statement said.

Lee attended a dinner hosted by Prime Minister Olzhas Bektenov in the evening.

Lee is leading the biggest delegation to date to Kazakhstan and Uzbekistan, comprising 40 local representatives and some 30 mainland entrepreneurs, including Shandong Gold Group chairman Zhang Xiaohai, GAC International president Wei Haigang and Liu Junzhai, director of Beijing United Information Technology.

Lee urged leaders of various sectors to remain united in exploring business prospects, so they could serve as “resources and opportunities” for their Central Asian counterparts, and vice versa.