Following the State Council’s strategic deployment on building a new development pattern and pursuing high-level opening up, to promote high-quality development, and to “build new platforms for international exchanges, including the International Finance Forum (IFF) annual meetings and other international themed activities” as mentioned in the State Council's Master Plan of Guangzhou Nansha on Deepening Comprehensive Cooperation between Guangdong, Hong Kong and Macao with Global Perspective, we are delighted to announce that with the approval of the State Council, the International Finance Forum (IFF) 20th Anniversary and Annual Meeting 2023 will be held on October 27th–29th in Nansha Free Trade Zone, Guangzhou. The meeting is jointly organized by the International Finance Forum (IFF), the People’s Government of Guangdong Province and the People’s Government of Guangzhou Municipality. We, hereby, cordially invite you to participate in the meeting.

The IFF is an independent, non-profit, and non-governmental international organization established in October 2003 by financial leaders from G20 countries, including China, the United States and the European Union, emerging economies and international organizations, such as the United Nations, the World Bank and the International Monetary Fund. The IFF is a long-standing, high-level platform for dialogue and multilateral cooperation in the field of international finance, and has been known as F20 (Finance 20) in the recent years.

The world is experiencing continued turmoil and change, which have triggered unprecedented challenges that the world has not seen in a century. Thus, it is urgent to establish a broader mechanism and global network of cooperation and dialogue to regularly discuss on major issues including economic and financial crises. Over the past two decades, the IFF has well positioned itself to play this important role. The IFF has established partnerships with over 50 countries and regions, as well as more than 50 international and regional organizations, and maintained close contact with over 2,000 political and financial leaders around the world. The IFF events, in particular its annual meetings, have invited more than 2000 guest speakers and 100,000 industry experts globally. It has played an active role in promoting international financial exchange, academic research, and strategic dialogue, and has achieved wide international impact.

On the occasion of the 20th Anniversary of the IFF, we sincerely hope that through our joint efforts, we can build the IFF into an international financial “F20”, an international platform of public diplomacy and a think tank that is “based in the Greater Bay Area in collaboration with Hong Kong and Macao with global perspective”. The IFF wishes to promote more inclusive and extensive international cooperation and research, re-establish the global multilateral dialogue channels, and contribute to the global economic recovery and sustainable development.