Mohamed H. Al-Mady of Saudi Arabia was appointed the 12th member of the Bao Forum board of directors on Thursday.

Al-Mady, vice chairman and CEO of Saudi Basic Industries Corporation(SABIC), was nominated and approved at a board meeting held before the forum's annual conference slated for April 11 in Boao in China's southern Hainan Province.

"I hope I can make some contributions to the board of directors," he said during the meeting.

The board also resolved the candidate for the 13th member of the board should preferably be from a Southeast Asian country.

Nominations for the 13th member have not been decided so far.

This year's annual conference of the Boao Forum has attracted more than 2,000 delegates from Asia and some from other areas around the world.

Chinese President Hu Jintao will attend the opening ceremony and deliver a keynote speech.

Foreign heads of states and government heads attending the opening ceremony include Pakistani President Pervez Musharraf, Mongolian President Nambaryn Enkhbayar, Sri Lankan President Mahinda Rajapakse, Tanzanian President Jakaya Mrisho Kikwete, Chilean President Michelle Bachelet Jeria, Tongan King Taufa'ahau Tupou V, Swedish Prime Minister Fredrik Reinfeldt, Kazakh Prime Minister Karim Masimov, Qatari Prime Minister Sheikh Hamad Bin Jasim Bin Jabir Al-thani and Australian Prime Minister Kevin Rudd.

Established in 2001, the forum is a pan-Asian platform of dialogue for key issues affecting Asia and the world. The theme of this year's annual conference is "Green Asia: moving towards win-win through changes".

(Xinhua News Agency April 11, 2008)