Papua New Guinea's Prime Minister Michael Thomas Somare arrived on Friday to attend the 2009 meeting of the Bo'ao Forum for Asia (BFA) from April 17 to 19 in south China's Hainan Province.

Prior to his departure for Hainan, Somare already conferred in Beijing with Chinese President Hu Jintao and Premier Wen Jiabao on bilateral relations and other regional and international issues of common concern. The two sides pledged to forge closer cooperation in various fields and signed a series of bilateral economic and technological cooperation agreements.

The BFA, established in 2001, is a high-level forum where government, business and scholars promote regional economic integration and bring Asian countries closer to their development goals.

Under the theme "Asia: Managing Beyond Crisis," more than 2,700 participants will discuss how to cope with the international financial crisis.

(Xinhua News Agency April 17, 2009)