WINDHOEK – Prime Minister Hage Geingob was the only African leader to attend the Boao Forum for Asia Annual Conference 2014. Geingob addressed the participants at the opening ceremony of the economic forum last week Thursday and shared his vision on “Asia’s New Future: Identifying New Growth Drivers,” which is this year’s theme of the annual conference.
As a non-governmental, non-profit international organization, the Boao Forum For Asia (BFA) is a prestigious and premier forum for leaders in government, business and academia in Asia and other continents to share ideas on the most pressing issues in Asia and the world at large. The forum is committed to promoting regional economic integration and bringing Asian countries closer to their development goals.
Initiated in 1998 by some former Asian country leaders, the BFA was formally inaugurated in February 2001. Countries across the region responded with strong support and great enthusiasm, and the world has listened attentively to the voice coming from a tiny, quiet and scenic island at the southernmost part of China, Boao, which is the permanent site of the annual conference of the forum since 2002. The BFA is tasked with promoting and deepening economic exchange, coordination, and cooperation within Asia and with other parts of the world. Through its working network within political, business, and academic circles, the BFA intends to serve the ever-growing economic cooperation among its members and between its members and other entities. The fast growth of Asian economies and other emerging economies in the past few years is largely attributed to globalization and industrial relocation. As the prospects of a global economic recovery remain obscure, the emerging markets and most Asian economies are losing steam in their respective economic growth trajectories. The demand for structural reforms to identify new drivers for growth made the theme of this year’s BFA.
By Staff Reporter