"Boao Forum for Asia is the world's first large-scale international conference held this year in offline forms. Against the backdrop of Covid-19 pannapdemic severely impacting the world economy, China held the forum as scheduled to convey to the world its confidence in joining hands to tackle the pandemic, showcase the vision of Asian development in the post-pandemic era, and contribute Asian solutions to global governance." said Ban Ki-moon, Chairman of Boao Forum for Asia and former Secretary-General of the United Nations, in an interview on the occasion of Boao Forum for Asia Annual Conference 2021.

In Ban Ki-moon's view, the beauty of Boao Forum for Asia are people, ideas and actions. Specifically, each year, the Forum brings together the best minds of different fields, including governments, business, academia and media from all over the world, focusing on the most pressing issues in Asia and the world; from the opening plenary to the dozens of meetings that follow, all the dialogues, discussions and explorations are sources of inspiration, which will collide with many inherited and innovative ideas; the participants will eventually put the ideas and visions gathered during the Forum into policies and actions.

Ban Ki-moon said that BFA annual conference 2021 focused on the theme of "A World in Change: Join Hands to Strengthen Global Governance and Advance Belt and Road Cooperation", which is a positive response to the current concerns of the international community. Ban Ki-moon said: "Improving the global governance system needs to keep pace with the times and follow the trend of development. There is an urgent need for Asian and world leaders to meet face-to-face for frank exchanges and to discuss solutions to challenges such as economic recovery, vaccine accessibility and affordability, and climate change. We are proud that Boao Forum for Asia has created such a rare opportunity."

This year, Boao Forum for Asia has six panels covering hot topics such as "dual circulation", financial opening-up, carbon neutrality, digital economy and sustainable development. According to Ban, the topics of the annual meeting focus on both current and long-term goals, on both Asia and the world, reflecting the interests and concerns of all members of the Boao family, which is of great significance.

Green development has always been a keyword of Boao Forum for Asia. Ban Ki-moon said that he pays close attention to carbon neutrality, climate change, ecological protection and other related topics, and will participate in the discussion on "Path to Carbon Neutral" during this year's annual conference. The guests will share their advanced experience and enhance mutual understanding at the forum, which will effectively boost confidence in achieving the goal of addressing climate change, and will play an instrumental role in the implementation of the Paris Agreement. "The concept of 'clean waters and green mountains are just as valuable as gold and silver' proposed by China is deeply rooted and has become a guiding concept for green transformation in many fields. This is not only beneficial to China's own sustainable development, but also constructive in the global response to climate change."

The BFA Asia Poverty Reduction Report 2020, released in last December, noted that despite the challenges, Asia has contributed the most to global poverty reduction, with the remarkable poverty reduction achievements in China. Ban said that during his tenure as UN Secretary-General, the UN adopted the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development and considered poverty reduction as its primary goal. "China has made outstanding contributions and played an important role as a model for the cause of global poverty reduction." Ban said that China's timely accomplishment of the targeted poverty eradication in the new era "is not only a historic achievement for China, but also a milestone event in achieving the goals of the UN 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development. China provided good references and experience for the world."

"The 20 years of Boao Forum for Asia are 20 years of keeping pace with the times, 20 years of China's rapid development, and 20 years of promotion in dialogue and cooperation among Asian countries." Ban believed that in the future, Boao Forum for Asia will play a greater role in a wider range of international affairs based on its foundation in Asia.