BEIJING: Prime Minister Shahid Khaqan Abbasi will arrive in Sanya, the southernmost city on China’s Hainan Island, on Sunday (today) to attend annual meeting of the Boao Forum for Asia (BFA).
The prime minister is likely to be accompanied by Foreign Minister Khawaja Asif, Interior Minister Ahsan Iqbal and Minister for Power Awais Khan Leghari. Besides addressing the annual meeting, the prime minister will hold a one-on-one meeting with Chinese President Xi Jinping and discuss a range of bilateral, regional and global issues.
The prime minister has been invited to attend this year’s meeting to be held on April 8-11 under the theme “An Open and Innovative Asia for a World of Greater Prosperity”.
Other attendees include Austrian President Alexander Van der Bellen, Philippine President Rodrigo Duterte, Mongolian Prime Minister Ukhnaagiin Khurelsukh, Prime Minister Mark Rutte of the Netherlands, Singaporean Prime Minister Lee Hsien Loong, UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres, and International Monetary Fund Managing Director Christine Lagarde. All the leaders will discuss bilateral, multilateral practical cooperation, global governance, economy and trade.
Chinese President Xi Jinping will deliver a keynote speech at the forum. New measures to further open up the Chinese economy to the world will be announced. The forum would showcase China’s progress in reform and opening up. The over 2,000 participants will hear a series of new opening-up measures that China will take as a vision for the future.
In addition to China’s opening-up policy, this year’s forum will also focus on Asia’s integration and China’s stance on building a community with a shared future for Asia and humanity. The BFA will launch three reports, which will focus on the integration of Asian economies, the emerging economy and Asia’s competitiveness respectively in an effort to promote Asian countries’ joint development. As 2018 marks the 40th anniversary of China’s reform and opening up drive, the conference will also focus on structural reform.
Founded in 2001, the BFA is a non-governmental and non-profit international organization committed to promoting regional economic integration and bringing Asian countries closer to their development goals.
Published in Daily Times, April 8th 2018.
