The Board of Directors of the Boao Forum for Asia (BFA) held a meeting in Hainan Thursday afternoon, which was presided over by Chairman of the Board Fidel Ramos.

Long Yongtu, secretary-general of the BFA, reported the work of the secretariat and the preparations for the upcoming 2005 BFA annual conference, slated from April 22 to 24, to the Board of Directors.

The BFA 2005 annual conference is scheduled to organize plenary sessions on New Role of Asia, Challenges for World Economic Growth, Internationalization Road of Asian Companies, and Corporate Governance and Competitiveness; luncheon sessions of the New Role of Asia and Future of Asia-Europe Cooperation, and Prospects of New Round Negotiation of WTO; and panels of Energy Future of China and Australia, Prospects of Real Estate Development in China, Monetary Policy and Economic Growth and others.

The Board of Directors, whose members include former Australian Prime Minister Robert James Lee Hawke and former Kazak Prime Minister Sergei Alexandrovich Tereshchenko, is the decision-making body of the BFA. It meets once a year.

Ramos also presided over a general meeting of BFA members Thursday evening.

Source: Xinhua