The Boao Forum for Asia (BFA) is launching the Global Economic Development and Security Forum (GEDSF), a new platform to defend multilateralism.

The world economy is confronted with lackluster growth, unbalanced development, as well as growing problems in food safety, and financial, logistics and ecological security, said BFA Secretary General Li Baodong at a press conference in Beijing on Thursday.

As well as offering new growth opportunities, the application of new technologies such as big data has also brought new challenges in cyber security, digital economy, and information and privacy security, Li added.

In response to the new international situation and development needs, the BFA has decided to launch the GEDSF, with the aim of building a global platform for in-depth discussion of pertinent issues.

Economic development and security are correlated, said Andy Tsang Wai-hung, president of the GEDSF.

Today, the world economic development and security are facing dual pressure, said Tsang, also former commissioner of police in Hong Kong.

Traditional economic security issues are a big concern for all countries, such as international economic frictions, financial risks, energy and resources security, the widening gap between the rich and the poor and unemployment, said Tsang.

Increasingly prominent are non-traditional security issues such as information security, data security, and privacy security, among a list of other concerns that come hand in hand with the latest technologies.

The international society needs to continue improving the law enforcement cooperation mechanism and providing platforms for all to voice their opinions.

The BFA has set up the GEDSF to answer the needs for interaction in an ever-changing international environment and provide a high-level dialogue and exchange platform focusing on new economic drivers and hot-button security issues.

The inaugural GEDSF is scheduled to take place in China in 2020.