Boao Forum for Asia Financial Cooperation Conference opens in Dubai

The Boao Forum for Asia Financial Cooperation Conference opened on Monday for the first time in the Middle East, highlighting stronger economic links between the Middle East and the Far East.

Participants at the forum will discuss ways to secure win-win partnerships in energy supplies through financial cooperation, such as the proposed Asian Infrastructure Investment Bank (AIIB).

United Arab Emirates (UAE) Vice President, Prime Minister and Dubai ruler Sheikh Mohammed Bin Rashid Al-Maktoum, former Chinese Vice Premier and Vice chairman of the Boao Forum for Asia Zeng Peiyan, former Pakistani Prime Minister Shaukat Aziz, former French Prime Minister Dominique de Villepin, and Sheikha Lubna Al- Qasismi, the UAE minister of economic cooperation and development, attended the opening ceremony.

Zeng stressed the importance of the forum, saying more cooperation among economic players and more initiatives are vital to get the global economy back on track, based on mutual respect and win-win agreements between states and regions.

He proposed financial cooperation such as currency swaps and new financial products to reduce transnational financial risks.

Zeng also underscored the Silk Road Economic Belt and the 21st Century Maritime Silk Road Initiatives proposed by Chinese President Xi Jinping in boosting pragmatic cooperation and common development among Asian nations.

Sheikha Lubna, the UAE minister, hailed China's role in leading Asian growth and prosperity, saying trade between China and the UAE reached 46.2 billion U.S. dollars in 2013, a 14 percent increase year on year.

Aziz, the former Pakistani prime minister, said the forum strengthens Dubai as a hub between the Middle East and Asia. "A new geopolitical order is here to stay and Asia will lead the new global economic growth."

He praised China's peaceful growth as a game changer, hailing the proposed AIIB as "a major milestone."

The two-day conference in Dubai, attended by over 350 delegates, will run through Tuesday.