Ajit Singh, interim Secretary-General of the Bo'ao Forum for Asia, said Sunday that the forum will bring an opportunity to discuss Asian issues from an Asian perspective.
Singh, also former Secretary-General of ASEAN, told a press conference that the forum will be formally established next Tuesday, and state leaders, including King Birendra of Nepal and Malaysian Prime Minister Mahathir Mohamad, will give addresses.
Singh stressed that the forum is different from APEC, ASEM and ASEAN, due to its characteristics of being non-governmental and open.
The forum aims to provide a venue for interaction between government officials, business leaders and scholars at the highest level, so that they can discuss major economic and social issues, he added.
"The forum welcomes anyone to engage in its discussions, regardless of nationality or whether or not he or she intends to invest in Asia, so long as he or she agrees with the basic idea of the forum," Singh said.
State leaders and statesmen from countries including Australia, Pakistan, Mongolia, and Malaysia, have already arrived in this city in south China's Hainan Province, said Li Dongsheng, deputy governor of the province.
(People's Daily 02/26/2001)
