President attends 'Belt and Road' Forum in China

On the morning of May 14, the Belt and Road Forum for International Cooperation officially opened in Beijing, China.

President Tran Dai Quang (center). (Photo: Nhan Sang/VNA)

The forum was attended by senior leaders from 29 countries, including Russia, Kazakhstan, Czech Republic, Switzerland, Italy, Spain, Turkey, Pakistan, Cambodia, Malaysia, Indonesia, Philippines, Laos, Myanmar, Kenya, Chile, Argentina...; along with the Secretary General of the United Nations, the President of the World Bank (WB), and the Managing Director of the International Monetary Fund (IMF).

The Vietnamese delegation was led by President Tran Dai Quang with the participation of leaders of a number of ministries and branches.

This forum, themed “Belt and Road: Cooperation for Shared Prosperity,” will feature a roundtable of leaders and high-level dialogue (for ministers, businesses and academics).

Minister of Industry and Trade Tran Tuan Anh is expected to attend the discussion session on trade connectivity; Minister of Planning and Investment Nguyen Chi Dung will attend the discussion session on policy connectivity; Chairman of the Vietnam-China Friendship Association Nguyen Xuan Thang will attend the discussion session on people-to-people exchange.

Speaking at the opening of the forum, General Secretary and President of China Xi Jinping said that China will increase investment, thereby continuing to pour an additional 100 billion yuan (14.5 billion USD) into the "Belt and Road" initiative.

According to China's National Development and Reform Commission, since 2013, China's investments related to the "Belt and Road" initiative have reached 60 billion USD, and the majority of China's future overseas investments will be destined for countries participating in this project.

China said that when completed, the “Belt and Road” initiative will form a large economic and trade network with development potential covering a large area with a population of 4.4 billion people, a gross domestic product (GDP) of 21,000 billion USD (accounting for 30% of global GDP) and can create a trade value of more than 2,500 billion USD within a decade as well as link with emerging markets with strong growth potential.

The forum is expected to close on May 15 and the leaders will issue a Joint Communique of the Leaders' Roundtable./.

According to Vietnamplus