Boao Forum for Asia

Boao Forum for Asia
博鳌亚洲论坛

Formation	2001; 23 years ago (2001)
Type	Nonprofit organization
Legal status	Forum
Headquarters	Bo'ao, Hainan, China Beijing (Secretariat)
Region served	Asia
Chairman	Ban Ki-moon
Secretary General	Zhang Jun[1]
Website	english.boaoforum.org

The Boao Forum for Asia (BFA; Chinese: 博鳌亚洲论坛; pinyin: Bó'áo Yàzhōu Lùntán), initiated by 25 Asian countries and Australia (increased to 28 in 2006), is a nonprofit that hosts high-level forums for leaders from government, business and academia in Asia and other continents to share their vision on the most pressing issues in this region and the world at large. Though its fixed address is in Bo'ao, Hainan province, China, its Secretariat is based in Beijing. The forum, sometimes known as the “Asian Davos”, takes its name from the town of Boao, located in China's southern Hainan province, which has been the permanent venue for its annual conference since 2002.^[2]

The Forum is committed to promoting regional economic integration and bringing Asian countries even closer to their development goals. Initiated in 1998 by Fidel V. Ramos, former President of the Philippines, Bob Hawke, former Prime Minister of Australia, and Morihiro Hosokawa, former Prime Minister of Japan, the Boao Forum for Asia was formally inaugurated in February 2001. The founding of the BFA was driven by the People's Republic of China and founded by 26 Asian and Australasian states on 27 February 2001. The organisation held its first meeting from 12 to 13 April 2002.

Discussions at the BFA focus on economics, integration, cooperation, society and the environment. In the past the forum also addressed China's entry into the World Trade Organization, as well as Southeast Asia's economic crisis during the 1990s. The geopolitical strategy 'China's peaceful rise' was a topic of discussion for the forum in 2004. In addition to its annual meeting, the BFA also sponsors other forums and meetings related to Asian issues.