PM Najib Arrives In China To Attend BOAO Forum For Asia

From M. Saraswathi BOAO (Hainan, China), March 27 (Bernama) -- Malaysian Prime Minister Najib Razak (two, left) flew in to the Haikou Meilan International Airport, Hainan, China, Friday to attend the Boao Forum for Asia 2015 (BFA). He was received by Malaysia’s Ambassador to China, Zainuddin Yahya; Malaysia’s Consul General to Guangzhou, Muzambli Markam; Trade Consul of Malaysia to Guangzhou, Suresh Kumar; Vice Governor of Hainan, Lu Chunhua and Ambassador of China to Malaysia, Huang Huikang. The prime minister and his delegation will depart Haikou to Boao, which is about 72km away, via a high-speed train. Upon his arrival in Boao, Najib will proceed to the State Guest House, where he will have a bilateral meeting with China’s President Xi Jinping. The bilateral meeting will be the fourth for both leaders. It will be followed by a dinner hosted by Xi for Najib, who is here for a two-day working visit. Najib, who is also the finance minister, is scheduled to deliver a speech during the Opening Plenary Session of BFA on Saturday. The session would be officiated by Xi. This is the Najib's fifth official visit to China as the prime minister but his first appearance at the forum, which is modelled after the annual World Economic Forum in Davos, Switzerland. BFA has a fixed address in Boao, a town located next to the eastern coastal city of Qionghai in Hainan, China. Held since 2002, this year's BFA theme is 'Asia's New Future: Towards a Community of Common Destiny'. Najib's working visit augurs well for relations between Malaysia and China as it will provide the opportunity to enhance and strengthen the bilateral ties and cooperation. It will also serve as a platform to highlight ASEAN's future direction and agenda as well as Malaysia's priorities for the regional grouping as the ASEAN 2015 chairman. (photoBERNAMA) -- BERNAMA