HONG KONG -- US economist Jeffrey Sachs on Thursday said that Hong Kong will play a unique leadership role in the global pursuit of achieving sustainable development by becoming a green financial center for the world.

At an event hosted by the Hong Kong Association of External Friendship, Sachs said Hong Kong can leverage its robust common law framework, deep integration with the international financial and trading systems, and its partnership with other cities in the Guangdong-Hong Kong-Macao Greater Bay Area.

"The Greater Bay Area is a world-leading production, education and financial center," said the professor at Columbia University, adding that the region is unique in the world in terms of its sizable population and transportation connectivity.

"The Belt and Road Initiative is my favorite foreign policy initiative in the area of sustainable development," said Sachs.

Backed by the production prowess of the Greater Bay Area, Hong Kong can seize opportunities provided by the Belt and Road Initiative to help finance green development projects in developing countries, he said.