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Boao Forum Secretary General stresses importance of financing for low-income countries

Zhang Jun also pointed out the need to elaborate on youth issues

BEIJING, August 28. /TASS/. The Boao Forum for Asia (BFA) should pay close attention to the problem of affordable financing for low-income countries, BFA Secretary General Zhang Jun said.

"Many low-income countries still lack access to long-term and low-cost capital channels," the forum's WeChat page quoted Zhang Jun, who participated in a roundtable discussion on the 2030 Agenda, as saying.

The BFA leader also pointed out the need to work on youth issues, as the new generation is "the hope of the future." The Secretary-General noted that the process of sustainable development is uneven, with countries in the global South "generally lagging behind". In addition, he said, we should strive for a more equitable trend in which "no one is left behind". Zhang Jun added that the above-mentioned problems "should be given special attention.

Among the participants at the Bangkok roundtable, which was held under the theme "The Future of the World: Asia's View," was Shanghai Cooperation Organization (SCO) advisor BehroozMokhtari, who, as noted on the SCO Telegram channel, "expressed the organization's commitment to the idea of maintaining and strengthening peace, security and stability" in the region.

Mokhtari emphasized that the issues of ensuring strategic stability and developing dialogue are "the cornerstone" of the SCO, which "acts as a trans-regional multilateral association".

The BFA (on the east coast of China's Hainan Province) has been held regularly since 2022 and has about 30 participating countries (Asia-Pacific states). The Boao Forum for Asia is called the Eastern Davos. The Chinese authorities pay great attention to its development and see this mechanism as an effective tool of soft diplomacy that promotes and strengthens Beijing's international contacts. In 2025, the annual large-scale BAF event is scheduled for March 25-28.

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