Updated at 6.50pm: The government was committed to enhancing Hong Kong's position as an international aviation hub, Permanent Secretary for Economic Development Sandra Lee Suk-yeeat said on Thursday.
In a speech to the Foreign Correspondents' Club, Ms Lee noted that there was a global trend in which countries were liberalising their air rights.
She said policy makers were increasingly prepared to enter into more 'liberal bilateral agreements' to attract more traffic and enable new carriers to start up.
'Competition amongst major airports and the emergence of low-cost carriers have added further impetus to the liberalisation process,' Ms Lee explained.
'Although a credible multilateral institution has yet to emerge, some countries, notably the European Union and some Asean countries, are taking the initiative to develop different forms of plurilateral arrangements. These are developments we policy-makers cannot ignore,' she said.
Ms Lee also said the government wanted to continuously expand Hong Kong's aviation network through progressive liberalisation.