The Boao Forum for Asia, or Forum for Asia, or Boao Forum for Asia, was initiated by 25 Asian countries and Australia, and announced its establishment on February 27, 2001, after a general meeting held in Boao Township, located at the mouth of the Wanquan River in Qionghai City, Hainan Province, China, at which time programmatic documents, such as the Declaration and Guiding Principles for the Charter, were adopted. The Forum is a non-official, non-profit, regular, fixed-site international organization that provides a high-level dialogue platform for governments, enterprises, experts and scholars to discuss economic, social, environmental and other related issues. Boao, Hainan is the permanent seat of the Forum's headquarters.