It will be interesting to monitor how far the Boao Forum goes to being the key voice of Asia. If anything, I am heartened that this year’s theme is about a green and sustainable development path for the Asian nations. For more, check out the forum’s official website – I like the slogan – “Asia searching of Win-Win”, very Asian indeed.
And here is the official spiel from its web site-
As a non-government, non-profit international organization, Boao Forum For Asia (BFA) is the most prestigious and premier forum for leaders in government, business and academia in Asia and other continents to share visions on the most pressing issues in this dynamic region and the world at large. The Forum is committed to promoting regional economic integration and bringing Asian countries even closer to their development goals.
Initiated in 1998 by Fidel V. Ramos, former President of the Philippines, Bob Hawke, former Prime Minister of Australia, and Morihiro Hosokawa, former Prime Minister of Japan, Boao Forum for Asia was formally inaugurated in February 2001. Countries across the region have responded with strong support and great enthusiasm, and the world has listened attentively to the voice coming from a tiny, quiet and scenic island at the southernmost part of China – Boao, the permanent site of the Annual Conference of the Forum since 2002.
- – -
Boao forum aims to be key voice of Asia: new secretary-general
Editor: Mu Xuequan
Source – Xinhua, published April 11, 2010
BOAO, Hainan, April 11 (Xinhua) — China will work to make the Boao Forum for Asia (BFA) a key voice of Asia and more globally represented, the BFA’s newly-elected secretary-general Zhou Wenzhong said Sunday.
Zhou, a veteran Chinese diplomat, said that for the first time, the BFA’s new board of directors has several members from other continents, including former U.S. Treasury Secretary Henry Paulson and former French Prime Minister Jean-Pierre Raffarin.
This created conditions for the forum to be more globally represented, Zhou told Xinhua before the BFA wrapped up its annual conference on Sunday in Boao in south China’s island province of Hainan.
The forum represents Asia’s consensus and it belongs to the whole Asia, said Zhou, who will take the post from Long Yongtu, former deputy trade minister of China.
The three-day conference, with the theme of “Green Recovery: Asia’s Realistic Choice for Sustainable Growth,” concluded Sunday. It attracted about 2,000 political and business heavyweights and experts from Asia and around the world.
Established in 2001, the BFA is committed to promoting regional economic integration and bringing Asian countries even closer to their development goals.
Filed under: Boao Forum 2010, Chinese Model, Economics, Influence, International Relations, Politics, Strategy, xinhua
The Sharing Circle