HAIKOU /China/, February 21. /TASS/. The Boao Forum for Asia (BFA) will hold events on the social and economic development of the free trade port of Hainan province this year. That's according to the forum's program published by the BFA secretariat.

In particular,  the Hainan Dialogue event is to be held on March 29 in Boao, where the provincial administration will present promising areas for cooperation to forum guests. On the same day there will be a plenary session on the global development of free trade ports.

According to the program, this year BFA participants plan to discuss a wide range of important problems connected with geopolitics, energy, digital economy and fighting climate change. Issues related to international cooperation in implementing the projects of the "One Belt, One Road" initiative will traditionally be discussed.

This time, the theme of the forum is "An Uncertain World: Solidarity and Cooperation for Development amid Challenges.” Events will be held in the domains of the economy and the improvement of people's well-being, global governance and universal security, regional and international cooperation.

As BFA Secretary General Li Baodong said earlier, this year's organizers "will make all possible efforts to enhance mutual understanding among all countries on issues related to the global economic recovery after the pandemic."

The Boao Forum has been held regularly since 2001 and has 29 participating countries (Asia-Pacific states). It did not take place in 2020 because of the pandemic, but in 2021 and 2022 it was organized in a face-to-face format, and this time, according to the organizers, will be held March 28-31. The BFA is called the Eastern Davos - it is a major platform for the signing of important agreements, coordination of positions between representatives of business and government circles of Asian countries and all other regions of the world. Chinese authorities pay great attention to its development and consider this mechanism as an effective instrument of soft power, which promotes the activation and strengthening of international contacts in Beijing.