Pakistan participates in the 20th Session of Boao Forum for Asia, in China’s Hainan province

April 19,2021

Hainan, 19 April 2021:  The 20th Session of Boao Forum for Asia opened on 18 April in Bo’ao city of Southern Hainan province of China under the theme of “A world in Change: Join Hands to Strengthen Global Governance and Advance Belt and Road Cooperation”. 

Boao Forum is China’s premier international platform for dialogue and economic integration in Asia, which traditionally brings together political and corporate leaders and other experts from China and around the world. Due to Covid-19 pandemic, this year’s session was curtailed in its format and scale. Pakistan, which is a founding member, was represented by the Ambassador to China Mr. Moin ul Haque.

Speaking at the Forum’s inaugural banquet, Ambassador congratulated the Forum on its 20th anniversary this year. The 20th session, he said, was taking place amidst an unprecedented global health crisis and economic meltdown, which makes cooperation inescapable in an interconnected and interdependent world. A prosperous future for humanity in today’s world could only be built through dialogue, solidarity and mutually beneficial cooperation. 

The Ambassador noted that China’s BRI offered a new mode of win-win collaboration, partnership and connectivity in a world of increasing geopolitical uncertainty and rising inequalities both within and among the nations. Pakistan is a proud partner of BRI through its flagship programme of CPEC, which capitalizes on Pakistan’s ideal location at the cross roads of regional markets and the Government’s policy of geoeconomics to act as transit corridor for trade, energy pipelines and tourist flow. The Ambassador thanked the Government and people of China for the critical medical assistance provided during the Covid outbreak last year as well as the current supply of Chinese vaccines to confront the second spell of the pandemic. 

According to Chinese Ministry of Foreign Affairs, the primary task before this year’s session is to help Asian countries and the world build consensus on development and restore and reshape growth confidence while ensuring pandemic prevention and carrying forward economic cooperation and regional integration under the Belt and Road Initiative.