State Counsellor attends Belt and Road Forum in Beijing

May 14, 2017

State Counsellor Daw Aung San Suu Kyi was one of the many political and economic heavyweights who attended the opening ceremony of the Belt and Road Forum for International Cooperation held at the China National Convention Centre in Beijing yesterday.

The One Belt and One Road (OBOR) forum is an ambitious project by China to reopen, extend and re-energize the ancient sea and land trade routes originally used to sell spices and silk. Under the OBOR initiative are the Silk Road Economic Belt and 21st Century Maritime Silk Road that will connect Europe and Asia.

Joining Daw Aung San Suu Kyi at the forum’s opening ceremony yesterday were Russian President Vladimir Putin, Prime Minister of Turkey Recep Tayyip Erdogan, Italian Prime Minister Paolo Gentiloni, United Nations Secretary General Mr. Antonio Guterres, Managing Director of the International Monetary Fund Christine Lagarde, the heads of ASEAN countries such as Viet Nam, Indonesia, Malaysia, Philippines, Cambodia, Lao PDR, heads of countries on the European continent including Greece and Belarus as well as leaders from Pakistan, Sri Lanka, South Korea and Ethiopia.

At the event, Mr. Xi Jinping, President of the People’s Republic of China, gave an opening speech and Russian President Vladimir Putin, Prime Minister of Turkey Recep Tayyip Erdogan and United Nations Secretary General Mr. Antonio Guterres gave speeches of greeting.

In the evening, the State Counsellor together with her entourage attended a dinner honouring the visiting Heads of State and organisations held at the Great Hall of the People and later viewed a play performed in honour of the forum attendees at the National Centre for the Performing Arts (NCPA).

China aims to connect European and Asian countries by combining road and maritime trade routes under the OBOR programme that is the extension of the “Silk Road” trading route.

The OBOR programme led by President Xi Jinping will bring about economic development to all the countries through which OBOR passes.

The project will benefit regional economic cooperation, promote exchange and interaction among different cultures, and strive for world peace and development that will potentially benefit people in all the countries of the world.

Myanmar News Agency

Ref; The Global New Light of Myanmar