HONG KONG - The government of Hong Kong Special Administrative Region is to hold the first formal meeting with representatives of the Occupy Central students on Friday afternoon, a government official said on Tuesday evening.

The date for the formal meeting was agreed on at the third preliminary talk between the Hong Kong government and representatives of the students held on Tuesday.

Lau Kong-wah, HK's undersecretary of constitutional affairs, said after the preliminary talk that the government and three student representatives reached a consensus on the time of the meeting, and the meeting's location will be determined later.

According to Lau, the two sides will discuss two issues, namely "constitutional development's constitutional basis" and "constitutional development's legal provision", during the meeting. Each side could send five members to the first meeting.

Lau said the entire process of the formal meeting will be open to media, and the two sides will determine the date for the second round of meeting after Friday's meeting.