Opening of the Belt and Road International Cooperation Forum
The “Belt and Road” initiative, when completed, will create a large economic and trade network covering an area of 4.4 billion people, which can generate a trade value of more than 2,500 billion USD in 10 years.
On the morning of April 26, the 2nd Belt and Road Forum for International Cooperation officially opened in Beijing, China.
The Forum was attended by 37 heads of state or government from Australia, Azerbaijan, Belarus, Brunei, Cambodia, Chile, Cyprus, Czech Republic, Djibouti, Egypt, Ethiopia, Greece, Hungary, Indonesia, Italy, Kazakhstan, Kenya, Kyrgyzstan, Laos, Malaysia, Mongolia, Mozambique, Myanmar, Nepal, Pakistan, Papua New Guinea, Philippines, Portugal, Russia, Serbia, Singapore, Switzerland, Tajikistan, Thailand, United Arab Emirates (UAE), Uzbekistan, Vietnam; along with about 5,000 delegates from more than 150 countries and 90 international organizations.
The Vietnamese delegation was led by Prime Minister Nguyen Xuan Phuc with the participation of leaders of several ministries and branches.
This forum has the theme “Belt and Road Cooperation: Shaping a Brighter Shared Future” and mainly consists of three parts: Opening Ceremony, Leaders' Roundtable and High-Level Dialogue (for Ministers, businesses and academics).
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| Chinese President Xi Jinping delivers a speech at the opening ceremony of the Belt and Road Forum for International Cooperation in Beijing on April 26, 2019. (Photo: AFP/VNA) |
In his opening speech at the Forum, Chinese President Xi Jinping called on parties participating in the “Belt and Road” to continue promoting this initiative towards sustainable, high-quality development goals that contribute to improving people's lives.
The “Belt and Road” initiative was first mentioned by Chinese President Xi Jinping on September 7, 2013.
When completed, this initiative will form a large economic and trade network covering a vast 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 generate a trade value of more than 2,500 billion USD within a decade as well as linking with emerging markets with strong growth potential.
Vietnam welcomes initiatives and efforts to promote international integration, regional connectivity and supports China in successfully organizing the second Belt and Road Forum for International Cooperation.
Vietnam affirms its readiness to cooperate with China and other countries to build and implement programs and projects for the purpose of peace, development and common prosperity on the basis of the principles of mutual respect, equality, mutual benefit, compliance with the United Nations Charter and international law, and respect for the independence, sovereignty and territorial integrity of participating countries.
The Forum is expected to close on April 27 and will issue a Joint Communique of the Leaders' Roundtable./.
