October 24, 2003	Friday	Sha’aban 27, 1424

ISLAMABAD, Oct 23: The Boao Forum for Asia Annual Conference, to be held on November 2-3 at Boao, Hainan Province of China, will discuss a wide range of subjects related to economic development and promotion of trade among Asian nations.

Prominent Asian leaders, business tycoons and economic experts will deliberate upon a host of issues to step up development of Asian countries and bring forth ideas to further promote trade and economic cooperation.

The theme of the conference this year is “Asia seeking win-win development through cooperation.” President Pervez Musharraf will address the conference as a key speaker on November 2. The other important leaders who will address the meeting include Nur Sultan Nazarbayev, president of Kazakhstan and Chinese premier Wen Jiabao.

According to the organizers, the plenary sessions of the conference, designed for both days, would provide good space for Asian government leaders to interact with global business leaders and members of academia and for deliberating on development prospects of Asian economy, including trade cooperation and financial security issues.

Other concurrent sessions will be held to have in-depth discussions on topics such as IT industry in Asia, balancing role and responsibility of the media, Asian economic restructuring, etc.

About 1000 participants are expected to attend the conference. Prominent among them would be the current government leaders from Asia, including China, famed economists from multinational corporations and universities around the world, and successful business leaders operating in Asia.

Established in February 2001, Boao Forum for Asia, as a non- government and non-profit-making international organization, has evolved into a high-level platform for Asian leaders from the government, business and academia to express views towards Asia and the world.—APP