Jiang agrees to attend Boao Forum for Asia

President Jiang Zemin has agreed to attend the annual conference of the Boao Forum for Asia, the organisation that is likely to become the stage for him to take on the role of international statesman after relinquishing his government position at the National People's Congress.

Fidel Ramos, the former president of the Philippines, speaking in Beijing, confirmed that Mr Jiang had accepted the invitation to the May gathering.

Mr Jiang and Premier Zhu Rongji attended the first conference last year. As the host country to the forum, Hu Jintao and Wen Jiabao, the likely successors to Mr Jiang and Mr Zhu respectively after the NPC's annual conference in March, are also expected to attend.

The idea of a distinctly Asian forum in the wake of the 1997 financial crisis originally came from Mr Ramos, former Australian prime minister Bob Hawke and former Japanese prime minister Morihiro Hosokawa.

Mr Jiang received Mr Ramos and Mr Hawke at a Boao forum board of directors meeting in Beijing yesterday.

Although the forum is technically a non-government organisation, the government has been strongly supportive and has made Boao in Hainan province its permanent home.

Long Yongtu, the newly-appointed secretary-general, yesterday vowed to increase the membership from 101 and enlarge the scope beyond Asia to make it 'the most dynamic in the world'.