Boao Forum of Asia to hold annual conference in late April

The annual conference of the Boao Forum of Asia (BFA) will be held on April 22-24 in Boao, a tranquil town on the eastern coast of south China's Hainan Province, organizers say.

Preparation for the annual meeting is now in full swing.

According to the organizers, over 1,000 representatives from government, the business community, and the Asian and international press will attend this year's BFA annual conference, and a number of government leaders from countries and regions in and outside Asia will also be invited to give speeches at the annual meeting.

Among the participants will include John Winston Howard, Prime Minister of Australia, Wolfgang Schussel, Prime Minister of Austria, Supachai Panitchpakdi, Director-General of the World Trade Organization (WTO), and Robert E. Rubin, director and chairman of the executive committee and member of the Office of the Chairman, Citigroup, Inc.

In addition to discussing around a topic known as "Asia's new le" at the BFA annual conference, which will have "Asia in pursuit of a win-win modality and commitment for all" as its theme, participants will also debate and exchange views on subjects including energy, monetary policy and exchange rates, innovation in the information industry, the economics of the Olympic Games and reconstruction after the tsunami in the Indian Ocean.

An Asian film show and a Golf invitational tournament will also be staged during the BFA annual meeting.

BFA was proposed by Former Prime Minister of Australia Robert James Lee Hawke, former President of the Philippines Fidel Ramos, and former Prime Minister of Japan Hosokawa Morihiro in 1998.

It was officially established in February 2001, with the Declaration on the BFA signed by delegates from 26 founding member countries. The first BFA annual conference was held in April, 2002.

Source: Xinhua