This year's annual meeting of Boao Forum for Asia (BFA) will highlight themes of reform, opening up and innovation, organizers said Thursday.

Scheduled for April 8 to 11 in Boao, a coastal town in China's southern island province of Hainan, the conference will be themed "An Open and Innovative Asia for a World of Greater Prosperity", BFA secretary-general Zhou Wenzhong said at a press briefing.

"Asia and the Pacific need more open, better coordinated, more inclusive and balanced development than ever before," Zhou said.

As 2018 marks the 40th anniversary of China's reform and opening up drive, the conference will also focus on structural reform, Zhou added.

"This year's conference will have two sessions exclusively dedicated to China's 40 years of reform and opening up in addition to other supporting sessions on topics such as capital market reform, monetary policy normalization, tax cuts and rural rejuvenation," he said.

The four-day event will see around 60 formal discussions.

Heads of state, government officials, scholars and entrepreneurs have been invited.

Entrepreneur forums will cover fields including innovation, the sharing economy, blockchain, new retail and Xiong'an New Area.

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.