Shanghai Forum 2009 opens

(Agencies)
Updated: 2009-05-11 17:15

The grand Shanghai Forum 2009 opened Monday morning at Fudan University, Shanghai.

Shanghai Forum is an international economic forum hosted by Fudan University and sponsored by The Korea Foundation for Advanced Studies. Under the general theme of "Economic Globalization and the Choice of Asia", the Forum has seen success in three rounds, and this year will witness the fourth round.

Shanghai Forum takes its mission as "Concentrating on Asia, Focusing on Hot Issues, Congregating Elites, Promoting Interactions, Enhancing Cooperation and Seeking Consensus", endeavors to build a platform for communication among academic, political and commercial circles by inviting leaders and elites of all fields to cooperate and dialogue, so as to provide perspectives and advices for Asia's overall economic, political, social and cultural progress.

Prof. Yang Yuliang, President of Fudan University, Mr. Jae Won Chey, Vice Chairman of SK Group, Korea, Vice Minister Hao Ping of the Ministry of Education, and Mayor Han Zheng of Shanghai Municipality attended the opening ceremony and delivered addresses on the occasion.

Mr. Reuben Jeffery Ⅲ, former US Under-Secretary of State for Economic, Business and Agriculture Affairs, and Mr. Su Ning, Vice Governor of the People's Bank of China gave keynote speeches on the current economic downturn and its solutions.

Following the keynote speeches, Mr. Daisuke Kotegawa, Executive Director for Japan at IMF, Mr. Johannes Andreas Pflug, Chairman of the German-Chinese Parliamentary Friendship Group, Germany, Mr. Ong Keng Yong, Ambassador-at-Large in the Ministry of Foreign Affairs (MFA), Singapore and former Secretary-General of ASEAN, as well as Mr. John M. Quigley, Professor of Economics at the University of California, Berkeley, US gave speeches respectively on "Economic Revitalization: Perspectives of Major Powers/Regions", and held dynamic dialogue under the moderator of Prof. Shen Dingli, Executive Dean of the Institute of International Studies, Fudan University. The dialogue was warmly received by the audience and invited thought-provoking questions during the following Q&A session.

The opening ceremony was drawn to a successful conclusion by heated applause and discussion.