The Boao Forum for Asia (BFA) will be a good opportunity for Asian nations to get together and think about strategies to deal with the current financial crisis, Pakistani Ambassador to China Masood Khan told a press conference on Monday.

Khan said BFA has gradually become an international forum. He believes its upcoming annual conference will provide an opportunity to ensure the confidence that is needed in facing the financial crisis.

Pakistan believes that the Asian nations would have the ability, the resources and the genius to come up with strategies that would be helpful for Asia and the entire globe, said Khan.

According to Chinese Foreign Ministry spokeswoman Jiang Yu on a press briefing last Thursday, Pakistani President Asif Ali Zardari will attend the 2009 meeting of the BFA from April 17 to 19 in south China's Hainan Province. The conference's theme would be "Asia: Managing Beyond Crisis."

The conference would not only focus on the financial crisis, but also look at various regional "possibilities," including trade and investment in a long-term.

In light of the international trade downturn, Khan applauded the trade between Pakistan and China, saying it was not affected by the financial crisis and reached US$7 billion in 2008.

Khan also urged both sides to work harder to promote bilateral economic ties because "we want to increase this grade to US$15 billion by 2011," said him.

"What we need to do is to strengthen the economic cooperation between the two countries. We are succeeding on that track," he added.

According to Khan, the Speaker of the Pakistani National Assembly will visit China later this month. And a hundred-member youth delegation will also be here in April. The themes of these visits will be "understanding China better."

(Xinhua News Agency April 15, 2009)