The Boao Asia Forum has hosted its second conference out of China this year, in Ulaanbaatar, the capital city of Mongolia. Asian development and connectivity are among the major topics on the agenda.

Development, cooperation and alignment are three key words that can help us understand this Boao conference in Mongolia, which is themed "Concerted Action for Common Development in the New Era." 

Asia is the most economically dynamic part of the world, but it is also a region characterized by unbalanced development and numerous sensitive issues. Speakers at the forum believe cooperation among Asian countries and their development are vital to regional stability and prosperity.

"By convening this conference in Mongolia, a land-locked country in Asia, the Boao Forum aims to assist Mongolia in translating its resource advantage into an economic development advantage and to promote free trade and multilateral cooperation for common development and prosperity," says Li Baodong, secretary general of Boao Forum for Asia.

According to Ban Ki-moon, now chairman of the forum and former Secretary-General of UN, the world economy is now once again at a crossroad 10 years after the global financial crisis. "With the world witnessing a growing backlash against globalization and surging protectionism, global governance faces greater difficulties", he says.

Growth in emerging and developing Asia will dip from 6.5 percent in 2018 to 6.3 percent in 2019 and 6.4 percent in 2020, he noted. Ban called for tremendous efforts to uphold multilateralism.

The parallel sessions discussed how to align Belt and Road Initiative with Mongolia's development road. According to the host country's Foreign Minister Damin Tsogtbaatar, such idea is quite feasible. He says Mongolia also wants to seek exports through this forum.

"China is also organizing the import expo in Shanghai. China is demonstrating that China is not only an import economy but also a country that is buying a lot commodities and goods from around the world. We want to tap into that opportunity and we want to export," the Minister told CGTN.

Visions on the forum are diversified, and some speakers are stressing the need for more action and less words.

Perevjav Gankhuu, CEO of Erdenes Mongol LLC, Mongolia's state-owned mining and power company, says his company and fellow companies from China, Russia, South Korea, Japan are discussing how to transfer clean energy from Mongolia and Russia to other parts of Asia via jointly developing new energy market.

The conference is aiming to increase connectivity in Asia and seek green development as a common goal, as a way to ensure stable and sustainable cooperation along the Belt and Road routes.